Instead of a triumphant end to a 13,000-kilometer bicycle journey trough the Eurasian landmass and a world report, a French bike owner has discovered himself in a Russian detention heart.
French and Russian media reported that 44-year-old Sofiane Sehili, an skilled bike owner and filmmaker, has been arrested in Russia’s Far East and despatched to pretrial detention — simply 400 kilometers in need of his purpose.
Sehili was arrested after crossing the Russian border with China for the final leg of his try to interrupt the world pace report for the journey from Lisbon to Vladivostok.
Russia’s TASS and Interfax information companies mentioned the person, who was detained in early September, had been despatched till not less than October 4 to a pretrial detention facility in Ussuriysk within the Primorsky area – some 6,400 kilometers east of Moscow.
Interfax reported that the bike owner’s lawyer, Alla Kushnir, is searching for milder restrictions to be positioned on the person whereas the case is pending.
“An attraction towards the courtroom determination to take him into custody has already been filed with the Primorsky regional courtroom,” Kushnir was quoted as saying, suggesting attainable home arrest as an alternative of detention.
Sehili has been charged with illegally crossing the Russian state border, which is punishable with a nice of as much as 200,000 rubles (about $2,400), as much as two years of obligatory labor, or as much as two years behind bars, the lawyer mentioned.
French information company AFP quoted a government-linked jail monitoring group official who visited Sehili in jail as saying the bike owner had a Russian e-visa however had “tried to cross the border on foot at a checkpoint solely accessible for Russian and Chinese residents.”
“Then he went to a different crossing, the place it’s forbidden to cross on a motorbike, it’s essential to go on practice or bus,” Vladimir Naidin of the Primorsky area’s monitoring fee was quoted as telling AFP by telephone.
He mentioned Sehili was in good well being however was struggling to speak with officers on the detention facility due to the language barrier.
Sehili left Lisbon on July 1 and deliberate to interrupt the world pace report for crossing Eurasia by bicycle. His finish level was Vladivostok.
Sehili had earlier crossed into Russia from Georgia, then left the nation within the Astrakhan area. He then journeyed by way of, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and China.
He was searching for to interrupt the report of German Jonas Deichmann, who in 2017 crossed Eurasia in 64 days, two hours, and 26 minutes.
Sehili has taken half in about 20 multi-kilometer races, together with the Tour Divide, a 4,500-kilometer race from Canada to Mexico.
In his Instagram journal, Sehili mentioned hours earlier than his arrest: “It’s the final day. Yesterday, I rode a few hours within the rain. I’m going to placed on my moist garments. I’m going to get on my bike, and I’m going to experience to Vladivostok.”
Russia has arrested quite a lot of foreigners on prices that rights teams say are sometimes trumped-up allegations.
Moscow has used these detainees as a part of swaps to win the discharge of Russian held elsewhere, usually on critical prison or spying prices.
With reporting by AFP and The Washington Post
