MOSCOW/BRUSSELS, April 25 (RIA Novosti) - The controversial leader of the Belgian National Front said Tuesday he was going to ask Russia for political asylum.
"Unlike Belgium, Russia is a free country, and if need be, I could request political asylum, if [Russian] laws so allow," Daniel Feret said in Moscow, where he was attending a congress of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia as a guest.
Feret, 61, is the founder of the French-speaking National Front. A Belgian court found him guilty of publishing racist pamphlets and sentenced him 250 hours of public service helping immigrants to integrate. He will face 10 months jail if he does not accept the ruling. The Brussels Appeals Court also barred him from standing in elections for 10 years.
Feret said should the sentence be upheld, he was going to ask for political asylum, adding: "I love Russia."
However, the Russian Embassy in Belgium dismissed the idea of Ferent being given political asylum.
"Russia grants political asylum to foreign nationals whose life is in danger because of their political convictions or their activities," press attache Andrei Ordash said.
"However, Russia does not consider applications from citizens of states that, in the view of the Russian side, have a stable democratic system and an independent judiciary," he said, adding that like in Belgium, dissemination of racist ideas is a criminal offense in Russia.
