Copenhagen, Friday
A RUSSIAN sailor accused of murdering five crew on a German freighter,
which was found drifting in the North Sea, may be extradited to Germany.
''Apart from wanting to assist in clearing up the murder case, Denmark
has no interest in keeping the Russian since the freighter is German,''
said a police spokesman in Esbjerg on the west coast of Jutland.
''After discussions here today with German police and lawyers, we
expect that the prisoner will eventually be transferred to Germany for
trial,'' he added.
The 28-year-old Russian sailor, believed to be Andrei Lapin, a former
naval officer, was charged on Thursday in a district court in Esbjerg
with murdering the German captain and four other Russian crew of the
Baerbel and with theft and arson on the high seas.
Danish fishermen found the Russian alone on Wednesday in a rubber
dinghy near the deserted Baerbel. Police said they found bloodstains on
the ship and there were signs that an attempt had been made to set it on
fire using diesel oil.
The Russian, from Kaliningrad, was carrrying 60,000 German marks
(about #24,000) in bank notes. The captain's safe was found looted with
the passports of the four missing Russians in it and papers scattered
around the cabin.
In court, the Russian said he knew nothing of the fate of the missing
seamen. He said he was the only survivor of a drunken brawl and a fire
on board the freighter and had escaped aboard the dinghy.
The fishermen boarded the vessel 100 miles west of the Danish coast.
The Danish coastguard picked up the Russian by helicopter and flew him
to Esbjerg.
The German vessel had left London on August 14 and was due in the port
of Brunsbuettel, Germany, at the mouth of the Elbe river, two days
later.--Reuter.
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