DLM
03-24-2005, 08:13 AM
Bobby Fischer, released from detention in Japan, flies to new home in Iceland
Wed Mar 23
USHIKU, Japan (AP) - Chess legend Bobby Fischer was freed Thursday after nearly nine months in a Japanese detention centre and immediately headed for the airport to board a flight to his new home, Iceland.
Fischer, sporting a long, grey beard, jeans and a baseball cap pulled down low over his face, left the immigration detention centre in Ushiku on Tokyo's outskirts early Thursday morning.
As he was taken away in a black limousine provided by the Icelandic Embassy, his vehicle was mobbed by a few-dozen photographers and reporters. Fischer did not emerge from the car or make any comment.
Fischer was accompanied by his fiancee, Miyoko Watai, the head of Japan's chess association, and an official from the Icelandic Embassy. They were headed for the airport to try and catch an afternoon flight to Iceland.
The eccentric chess icon was taken into custody by Japanese immigration officials in July when he tried to leave the country using an invalid U.S. passport.
Fischer, who has been held in detention since his arrest, claims the passport was revoked illegally and sued to block a deportation order to the United States, where he is wanted for violating sanctions imposed on the former Yugoslavia by playing an exhibition match against Russian Boris Spassky in 1992.
This week, Iceland's legislature stepped in to break the standoff, awarding citizenship to Fischer. Iceland is where Fischer won the world championship in 1972, defeating Spassky in a classic Cold War showdown that propelled Fischer to international stardom.
Fischer could still face extradition to the United States - Iceland, like Japan, has an extradition treaty with Washington.
Thordur Oskarsson, Iceland's ambassador to Japan, said before Fischer's release Washington sent a "message of disappointment" to the Icelandic government over its vote to grant Fischer citizenship.
"Despite the message, the decision was put through parliament on humanitarian grounds," Oskarsson said.
In Washington on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said it had officially asked Japan to hand over Fischer because of the charges against him.
"That's what we've asked for," said Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman for the State Department.
"Mr. Fischer is a fugitive from justice. There is a federal warrant for his arrest."
Japan's Foreign Ministry, which has denied there has been any pressure from Washington, had no immediate comment.
Tokyo initially refused Fischer's request to go to Iceland, saying Japanese law only allows for Fischer's deportation to the country of his origin. But following Iceland's decision Monday, Japanese Justice Minister Chieko Nono said officials would consider the possibility of allowing Fischer to go there.
Wed Mar 23
USHIKU, Japan (AP) - Chess legend Bobby Fischer was freed Thursday after nearly nine months in a Japanese detention centre and immediately headed for the airport to board a flight to his new home, Iceland.
Fischer, sporting a long, grey beard, jeans and a baseball cap pulled down low over his face, left the immigration detention centre in Ushiku on Tokyo's outskirts early Thursday morning.
As he was taken away in a black limousine provided by the Icelandic Embassy, his vehicle was mobbed by a few-dozen photographers and reporters. Fischer did not emerge from the car or make any comment.
Fischer was accompanied by his fiancee, Miyoko Watai, the head of Japan's chess association, and an official from the Icelandic Embassy. They were headed for the airport to try and catch an afternoon flight to Iceland.
The eccentric chess icon was taken into custody by Japanese immigration officials in July when he tried to leave the country using an invalid U.S. passport.
Fischer, who has been held in detention since his arrest, claims the passport was revoked illegally and sued to block a deportation order to the United States, where he is wanted for violating sanctions imposed on the former Yugoslavia by playing an exhibition match against Russian Boris Spassky in 1992.
This week, Iceland's legislature stepped in to break the standoff, awarding citizenship to Fischer. Iceland is where Fischer won the world championship in 1972, defeating Spassky in a classic Cold War showdown that propelled Fischer to international stardom.
Fischer could still face extradition to the United States - Iceland, like Japan, has an extradition treaty with Washington.
Thordur Oskarsson, Iceland's ambassador to Japan, said before Fischer's release Washington sent a "message of disappointment" to the Icelandic government over its vote to grant Fischer citizenship.
"Despite the message, the decision was put through parliament on humanitarian grounds," Oskarsson said.
In Washington on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said it had officially asked Japan to hand over Fischer because of the charges against him.
"That's what we've asked for," said Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman for the State Department.
"Mr. Fischer is a fugitive from justice. There is a federal warrant for his arrest."
Japan's Foreign Ministry, which has denied there has been any pressure from Washington, had no immediate comment.
Tokyo initially refused Fischer's request to go to Iceland, saying Japanese law only allows for Fischer's deportation to the country of his origin. But following Iceland's decision Monday, Japanese Justice Minister Chieko Nono said officials would consider the possibility of allowing Fischer to go there.