Russian justice rejects the appeal of French cyclist Sofiane Sehili, imprisoned since September 8

The endurance racing specialist is accused of “illegally crossing the Russian border” and risks two years in prison.

A court in the Primorye region, in the Russian Far East, rejected, Thursday October 9, the appeal against the arrest of French cyclist Sofiane Sehili, imprisoned since the beginning of September in Russia, the judicial body announced.

“The Primorye Regional Court considered the defense appeal (…) and recognized the conclusions of the court of first instance as legitimate and well-founded” who had ordered the placement of the cyclist in pre-trial detention on September 6, indicated the unified press service of the regional courts in a press release. Sofiane Sehili's lawyer immediately announced that she was going to appeal this decision, reported the Russian public press agency RIA Novosti.

Accused of “illegally crossing the Russian border”, according to his lawyer Alla Kouchnir, Sofiane Sehili, who risks up to two years in prison, was arrested in the Russian Far East, supposed to be the final stage of his world record Eurasian bicycle crossing, which began in Lisbon at the beginning of July. The 44-year-old French endurance cyclist had wanted to cycle to Russia from China via a border crossing which was only passable by train or bus, according to the head of a public prison control commission, Vladimir Naïdine. However, using these modes of transport would have invalidated his record after more than 60 days and thousands of kilometers of effort.

The cyclist left Lisbon at the beginning of July, and planned to cross 17 countries to arrive at the beginning of September in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East.