Ruslan Umarov, a brother of Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov, is in an Italian detention center for illegal immigrants in the city of Gradisca, according to Italian newspaper Il Piccolo.
The Italian Carabinieri detained 35-year-old Ruslan Umarov on January 6 after he was arrested in an express train in northern Italy en route to Paris, on suspicion of taking part in terrorist activities.
The Italians carried out the arrest on the basis of information supplied by the French security services.
Ruslan Umarov had no identity documents on him when he was arrested and claimed political asylum "on humanitarian grounds".
The paper says there has been no official statement on Umarov's detention.
The press secretary at the Russian Embassy in Italy, Alexander Paklin, said the reports were being checked for validity and he had no other information.
The issue may be resolved by diplomatic channels between Russia and Italy. A formal request for political asylum by Umarov should be examined by a territorial commission supervising issues surrounding illegal immigrants and asylum cases. According to Italian law, Umarov cannot be held in the center for more than six months.
Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for bombings in the Moscow subway in March 2010 which killed 40 people. RIA Novosti
