Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

Russian prosecutors have requested the extradition of former YUKOS executive Antonio Valdes Garcia from Spain, according to Marina Gridneva, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General's Office.

The Moscow Times adds that it remains "unclear" if Spain will agree to the request for extradition as it does not extradite its own citizens. Valdes Garcia fled to Spain in the course of sentencing for his alleged involvement in an embezzlement scheme related to YUKOS. Yelena Liptser, a defense attorney in the ongoing trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, recently stated that even after Valdes Garcia voluntarily returned in 2005, he was very badly treated and beaten while in Russian custody.