MADRID (AP) — The lawyer for an alleged Russian hacker says authorities in Moscow are fighting his extradition from Spain to the U.S. by seeking his return to Russia.

Pyotr Levashov, a 37-year-old arrested earlier this year while vacationing with his family in Barcelona, is appearing Friday before Spain's National Court to decide whether he should be judged in the U.S. on charges of fraud and unauthorized interception of electronic communications.

Levashov's lawyer, Margarita Repina, said that a Russian counter-extradition request was filed with Spanish authorities Thursday, hours before Friday's hearing.

The Russian Embassy in Madrid didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Levashov's arrest was part of American-initiated operations over the past year to capture alleged Russian cybercriminals outside their homeland, which has no extradition agreement with the U.S.