GRNLive Foreign Correspondents Network

Recruited by the Russian secret services to inform about the dissident movement of Kasparov, Alexander Novikov later decided to come clean and told the network he had infiltrated about being a KGB informant.

Since then he applied for applied for asylum in Finland, but he was denied. The European Court of Human Rights also denied his appeal. Today he is deported to Russia, and fears for his life.

His situation is far from being clear and he does not seem very skilled in defending his cause. On the other hand, Finland has a history of deporting people who are not safe in their countries of origin. The latest two cases, regarding grandmothers of over 80 years old were widely reported in Finnish media.