The pre -trial detention of the French cyclist Sofiane Sehili, arrested in Russia, is extended until October 4

This 44 -year -old endurance cyclist is accused of illegally crossed the Russian border while trying to beat a world record for the Eurasian bicycle.

The pre-trial detention of the French cyclist Sofiane Sehili, arrested in early September in Russia in early September, was extended until October 4, announced on Wednesday September 17, the Ria Novosti State Agency, citing a Tribunal of the Russian Far East.

This 44 -year -old endurance cyclist is accused of illegally crossed the Russian border while trying to beat a world record for the Eurasian bicycle. The district court of Oussouriïsk, in the Russian region of Primorié, decided to impose “A preventive measure in the form of pre -trial detention” Until October 4, said its press service in Ria Novosti, without specifying the reason for its arrest. The decision was made on September 6, according to this source, but was made public until Wednesday.

Sofiane Sehili had left Lisbon in early July, and intended to cross 17 countries to arrive at Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East in early September. He planned to cross the border between China and Russia near the Chinese locality of Sanchakou, according to a map of his provisional route published on the Internet. The Russian city of Oussouriïsk, where its detention has been extended, is around sixty kilometers away.

A person in charge of a public prisons control commission, Vladimir Naidine, told AFP to visit Sofiane Sehili on Tuesday. The cyclist, who said he had an electronic Russian visa, had first tried to enter the country via a border post reserved for the Russians and the Chinese, according to him. “He went to another crossing point, but there it is not possible to cross the border by bike, you have to take a train or a bus”he explained. However, using these modes of transport would have invalidated its record after more than 60 days and thousands of kilometers of effort. The cyclist had therefore decided to appear before the customs officers, convinced that they would still let him go by bicycle, but had been arrested, had explained his partner to France 3 Occitanie. She said about Instagram what “The authorities say that the investigation will last a month, during which Sofiane is still detained.”