A rally took place near the Moldovan Embassy in downtown Moscow on Wednesday. The participants demanded the release of Russian writer Eduard Bagirov, who was arrested in Chisinau on June 16th on suspicion of masterminding and taking part in mass riots on April 7th 2009.

The rally was organized by an action group of the Litprom Internet community of writers led by Eduard Bagirov. Up to 150 people, including writer Sergei Minayev and TV host Tatiana Gevorkyan, turned up at the Moldovan Embassy to support Bagirov. The picket, authorized by the city authorities, went off smoothly as police stood by. The participants were wearing T-shirts with pun slogans calling for the release of the illegally detained writer and directed against Moldova’s acting President Marian Lupu. On Lupu’s orders Moldova’s prosecutors have been pressing Eduard Bagirov into testifying against a number of government opponents in Moldova. Bagirov has been interrogated only once since his detention more than three months ago, and no charges have been brought against him. Vladimir Brutet of the International Institute of Humanitarian Political Research pointed this out in an interview with a Voice of Russia correspondent.

"No inquiry has been conducted since Bagirov was taken to a pre-trial detention center in Moldova. No charges have been filed against him. For this reason, there are grounds to believe that he was arrested not because the Moldovan authorities are set on investigating the 2009 riots but because they want him to testify against a number of politicians. This is unacceptable. Bagirov must be set free."

Meanwhile, at the request of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, a Chisinau court extended the detention term for the Russian writer for another 30 days in its ruling of September 13th . Bagirov responded by going on a hunger strike and has been on a hunger strike for eight days.

Sergei Maksimov of the Institute of Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences commented on the legal aspects of the Bagirov case in a Voice of Russia interview.

"Russians who committed a crime or are accused of committing a crime on the territory of a foreign country are not eligible for extradition to this country. If the authorities in a foreign country detain and convict a Russian national, Russia will seek a handover of this national for serving time on the territory of Russia. The provisions of this law guarantee protection for Russian nationals abroad. Any Russian subjected to prosecution on the territory of a foreign state has the right to address the Russian consul. Russian diplomats will do their utmost to help Russian citizens, including providing them with a lawyer."

In the meantime, Moldova has been leaving all Russian requests in connection with the Bagirov case without response. In the absence of an appropriate reaction from Chisinau, the Russian Foreign Ministry warns of a setback in bilateral partnership and of a worsening of bilateral ties.