Chess legend 'seeking asylum'

2004-07-20 17:34

Tokyo - Chess legend Bobby Fischer, wanted by United States authorities and facing deportation from Japan, is seeking offers of political asylum from a third country, according to a website attributed to a friend.

Fischer has been wanted since the early 1990s for breaking a United Nations embargo imposed on the former Yugoslavia for the Bosnian war when he scooped more than $3m (about R18m) in prize money from a match held in Montenegro.

He was arrested in Japan earlier this month and has been held while authorities decide whether or not to extradite him to the United States.

Miyoko Watai, head of the Japan Chess Association and a personal friend of Fischer's, said on a website she set up in tribute: "He urgently requests an immediate offer of political asylum from a friendly third country."

Faces up to 10 years in prison

The statement said Fischer did not want to return to the United States, which she described as "Jew-controlled" saying he would face "a kangaroo court and 10 years in Federal prison and a probably early demise or worse on trumped-up political charges".

"Nor does he wish to remain in a hostile, brutal and corrupt US-controlled Japan," the message said.

Fischer faces up to 10 years in prison if he is found guilty of breaking the sanctions on his controversial rematch with Boris Spassky in Montenegro.

Immigration officials said on Tuesday the chess legend was still undergoing deportation proceedings.

The official said the authorities were still examining the case and that Fischer would not necessarily be extradited.

Cases are often settled in days, but the process can drag on for weeks.

A United States embassy spokesperson declined to comment on whether Washington had asked for Fischer's extradition.

Known for his strong character, Fischer was a symbol in the United States of the Cold War-era struggle against communism, battling it out with the greatest Soviet chess champions.

In 1972, in Helsinki, the American genius broke 24 years of Soviet dominance by defeating Boris Spassky, and took home a world championship.

US issued an arrest warrant

After a nearly 20-year break, he jumped back into chess with a "revenge match" against Spassky in 1992.

The match, that earned him more than $3m, was held in Montenegro, in the former Yugoslavia, despite a United Nations embargo in effect at the time.

After he bagged the prize, US authorities charged him with a transaction in violation of sanctions and issued an arrest warrant.

Fischer travelled often between Europe and Asia, particularly to the Philippines and Japan where he often lived for extended periods.

- AFP