The Moscow City Court on Monday upheld a ruling to detain Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov on charges of illicit drug trafficking.
Rodchenkov who uncovered evidence of a state-sponsored doping scheme fled to the United States two years ago. Russia has repeatedly denied it orchestrated doping on the state level and has portrayed Rodchenkov as a mentally unstable attention seeker.
The ruling reported by Interfax on Monday calls for Rodchenkov to be extradited to Russia and would see the whistleblower detained if he crosses into Russia’s borders.
The case against the former doping lab manager was initially opened in 2012. Rodchenkov was also charged with abuse of power in June 2016.
"If they succeeded, Dr Rodchenkov would face death and torture at their hands," Rodchenkov’s lawyer Jim Walden has previously warned of his clients extradition.
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