Russian citizen Mikhail Timofeyev, a former aide and political associate of imprisoned former Governor of Khabarovsk Sergei Furgal, detained since January following a Russian extradition request, was released from extradition detention on a GEL 50,000 bail, his lawyer, Rusudan Mchedlishvili, confirmed to Civil.ge
Timofeyev’s defense has argued that the extradition request is politically motivated and raised concerns that Timofeyev could face ill-treatment if returned to Russia.
According to Mchedlishvili, Timofeyev’s release follows the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s interim measure issued earlier in September urging Georgia not to extradite or deport him pending its consideration of his case. While the UN measure is not binding, Georgian authorities have routinely complied with similar decisions, the lawyer said.
The measure came after the Tbilisi City Court approved his extradition to Russia and the Supreme Court subsequently upheld the decision.
The bail motion, requested by prosecutors, came some three weeks before Timofeyev’s maximum nine-month detention period expired, Mchedlishvili said, with the lawyer suspecting that the move was intended to leave prosecutors some period to detain Timofeyev again if the UN Committee rules his extradition permissible in a final decision that may take years to issue.
Under the bail decision, Timofeyev is prohibited from leaving Georgia and from leaving his home between 22:00 and 06:00. He must also report to the prosecutor’s office three times a week, notify the relevant agency 24 hours in advance of any change of address or telephone number, and hand over his passport or other valid travel document to the prosecutor’s office.
Timofeyev, 60, has been detained in Georgia since January based on an Interpol Red Notice issued in April 2024. His lawyers have said that Interpol initially blocked and later annulled the notice in September 2025, arguing that his continued detention in Georgia was therefore unlawful.
He was also then denied international protection in Georgia after authorities and the court argued that his case did not demonstrate political motives behind his prosecution, according to the lawyers.
Timofeyev previously spent eight years in a Russian prison after being sentenced on extortion charges in 2013. European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) subsequently found violations concerning his treatment and detention.
According to Mtchedlishvili, Timofeyev suffers from several health issues, including neurological and cardiological problems and a herniated disc, and requires the use of a crutch. The lawyer also said before that he is a vegetarian and has a permanent disability status, which he was assigned while serving time in prison in Russia, adding to the concerns about his treatment and health if extradited.
Further concerns include the lack of effective international mechanisms to monitor Timofeyev’s treatment in Russia, particularly given Russia’s exclusion from the Council of Europe in 2022 and its subsequent withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights.
According to the Russian investigative outlet The Insider, Timofeyev was a close ally of Sergei Furgal, who served as governor of Khabarovsk Krai from 2018 to 2020 under the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).
Furgal was arrested in 2020 and later sentenced to 22 years in prison for allegedly organizing the murders of business competitors in 2004–2005. His arrest sparked mass protests in Khabarovsk, with supporters claiming the case was politically motivated and “punishment for daring to beat the Kremlin’s candidate in elections.”
Following Furgal’s arrest, Timofeyev left Russia and was later charged in absentia in a case involving murders and attempted murders of businessmen from the same period. According to The Insider, in 2021, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office claimed that Timofeyev was a member of an organized group allegedly created by Furgal and his business partner, Nikolai Mistryukov, to eliminate business rivals. He was subsequently placed on a wanted list.
Timofeyev has reportedly sought protection abroad since 2020, first fleeing to China, then attempting to obtain asylum in Thailand, before arriving in Georgia in 2024.
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