 On January 28, the authorities admitted to having him in custody since January 23.As Babitsky's family, friends and colleagues voiced fears for his life and the scandal unfolded, after a personal inquiry by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was visiting Moscow, Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov on February 2 pledged to bring Babitsky to Moscow and release him.However, instead of his release, on February 4 the Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky announced that on February 3 Babitsky had been handed over to Chechen warlords in exchange for several Russian soldiers held captive by them.