French cyclist Sofiane Sehili has challenged a Russian court order keeping him in detention following his arrest at Russia's border with China.
French long-distance cyclist Sofiane Sehili, who has been held in Russia since early September after allegedly crossing the border illegally, has lodged an appeal against his detention.
The 44-year-old rider was stopped in Russia’s Far East, at what should have been the final leg of his record attempt to pedal across Eurasia.
Sehili set out from Lisbon in July, aiming to cover 17 countries and finish in Vladivostok by early September – a journey of more than 60 days and many thousands of kilometres.
But his record-breaking ride ran into bureaucratic trouble at the Russian border with China.
According to officials, Sehili first attempted to enter at a checkpoint restricted to Russian and Chinese nationals.
He then tried another crossing, only to find that the rules required travellers to enter by train or bus – a move that would have disqualified his world record attempt.
Determined to stick to his bike, he presented himself to border guards in the hope they would wave him through. Instead, he was detained.
French cyclist arrested in Russia to be detained until October
Pre-trial detention appeal
On Monday, Russian lawyer, Alla Kouchnir, told French news agency AFP that she had appealed his arrest with the regional court in Primorye, based in Vladivostok.
“I have spoken with investigators. In general, the investigation is already complete, and it’s unlikely that new details will appear,” she said.
Kouchnir has requested that Sehili’s pre-trial detention be replaced with a less restrictive measure that does not involve isolation.
For now, Russian courts have ordered that the Frenchman remain in custody until at least 4 October.
State news agency Ria Novosti reported that the appeal specifically challenges this provisional detention.
Despite the setback, supporters say Sehili is in good spirits.
A Russian prison monitoring official, Vladimir Naidin, reported that he had visited the cyclist in jail and found him in good health.
French researcher imprisoned in Russia faces new charges of espionage
'Ultra-cyclist' challenge
Back in France, his partner, Fanny Bensussan, told regional channel France 3 Occitanie that his only focus had been on the athletic feat itself.
“He thought only about his sporting achievement,” she said, explaining that he believed the border guards would make an exception.
Sehili is no stranger to gruelling challenges. A former archivist at cultural magazine Télérama, he reinvented himself as an "ultra-cyclist", specialising in rides stretching hundreds or even thousands of kilometres.
His Eurasia crossing was to be his most ambitious undertaking yet.
His arrest, however, comes against a fraught backdrop – since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several Western nationals have been detained in the country, amid continuing tensions between Moscow and Paris.
(With AFP)
