Russian Mathematician Detained in Armenia Released Due to Insufficient Documentation

Russian mathematician Mikhail Verbitski was arrested on June 12 at Yerevan airport but released days later because Russia failed to submit a proper extradition request to Armenian prosecutors. Verbitski is listed on Russia's financial intelligence service's roster of terrorists and extremists and faces two criminal cases. Despite his release, he remains unable to leave Armenia.

Russian mathematician Mikhail Verbitski was arrested on June 12, 2026 at Yerevan airport in Armenia's capital, but was released shortly afterwards because Russia did not submit a proper extradition request to Armenian prosecutors within the required timeframe. This was announced by Verbitski's lawyer Vache Simonyan to RFE/RL's Russia service.

Detention at the airport

Verbitski described the events himself as follows: "I was arrested right at the airport, put in handcuffs and taken to a pre-trial detention facility. At first I was told nothing, then I was told I would be sent to Russia. I was arrested because Russia is looking for me. I knew this, but I didn't believe they would arrest me if I came to Armenia."

Lawyer Simonyan explained that the reason for Verbitski's release was a formal procedural matter: Russia had not submitted an official extradition request to Armenian prosecutors within the prescribed deadline. Despite his release, Verbitski cannot leave Armenia. He has a ticket to Israel, but the travel ban is linked to charges brought against him in Russia.

Two criminal cases and terrorist list

According to Verbitski's wife Yulia Fridman, Russian authorities have opened two criminal cases against him: one for discrediting the military and another for justifying terrorism. The terrorism charge stemmed from Verbitski's questioning of the investigation methods used in the Crocus City Hall attack. Since January 2025, Verbitski has been listed on Russia's financial intelligence service Rosfinmonitoring's registry of terrorists and extremists.

Academic and blogger

Verbitski worked at the Moscow Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics and taught mathematics at HSE University, the University of Glasgow, and the Free University of Brussels. In an interview with Holod, he said he left Russia in 2015 and now lives in Rio de Janeiro, where he works as a professor at Brazil's National Institute of Mathematics. In addition to his academic work, he is known as a blogger and founder of Tifaretnik, a platform similar to LiveJournal.

The case reflects a broader pattern in Russia of using international legal assistance and criminal proceedings to persecute dissidents and war critics abroad.