Russia has extended Sofiane Sehili's detention
French ultra-cyclist Sofiane Sehili, who has been jailed in Russia's far-east since early September, has had his detention extended until November 3.
Sehili was on track for a world record pace for an 18,000 km ride across Eurasia, but ran into trouble just 200 km from the end of his journey. His attempts to cross the border from China to Russia were blocked twice, before Sehili – who had a valid Russian e-visa – tried a third route. However, he was arrested when presenting himself at a checkpoint on the Russian side, and detained on suspicion crossing the border illegally.
Iain Treloar
Sehili has been in pre-trial detention since, with an expected hearing this week pushed back by a court this week. His detention will now continue until at least November 3. Sehili's Russian lawyer, Alla Kouchnir, has told AFP she "will definitely file an appeal."
Sehili's partner, fellow ultra-cyclist Fanny Bensussan, has provided an update on Instagram, saying that she still has had no contact with Sofiane outside of letters. "He is doing okay. He is finding a routine in a foreign environment, he is writing and learning Russian with one of his two fellow inmates. There are three of them in a 15m² cell," she wrote.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a number of westerners have been arbitrarily detained in instances of "hostage diplomacy". Franco/Russian relations are particularly frosty due to France's key role in support of Ukraine.
