Nord Stream case: Ukrainian man’s health in Italian prison is compromised
9 November 15:16
Citizen of Ukraine Serhiy K., a suspect in the case of explosions at the
“Nord Stream gas pipeline, has been on a hunger strike for more than a week and is in critical health condition, according to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights
Dmytro Lubynets, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
After a meeting with the detainee’s wife, Galina K., the ombudsman said he had sent official letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Italian Ministry of Justice, Vice President of the European Parliament Pine Picherno and the Ombudsman of Italy and the Lazio region Marino Fardelli.
“We must do everything possible to protect the rights of the Ukrainian. After all, keeping Serhiy in a high-security colony with inadequate conditions is unacceptable and contrary to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms!” emphasized Lubinets.
He added that his counselor Alexander Gorodetsky continues to deal with this issue in Italy.
He is the lawyer of the Ukrainian: Sergiy K. is seeking to have his rights respected
On November 4, the lawyer of Sergiy K., Nicola Canestrini, reported that his 49-year-old client has been refusing to eat since October 31 and intends to use a hunger strike to ensure that his basic rights are respected. The Ukrainian demands, in particular, the right to “adequate food, a healthy environment and decent conditions of detention and equal treatment with other prisoners in terms of family visits and access to information.”
Since his detention in August of this year, Serhiy K. has not been provided with the necessary diet, which has led to a deterioration in his health, the lawyer added. The Ukrainian is currently being held in a high-security prison in northern Italy.
Italian court orders extradition of Ukrainian to Germany, defense to appeal
on October 27, an Italian court approved the extradition of Serhiy K. to Germany, Nicola Canestrini reported. The defense intends to appeal the verdict again to the Supreme Court of Italy, the highest court in the country, the lawyer said.
Earlier, on October 15, the Supreme Court in Rome had already overturned the decision of the lower court to extradite Ukrainian Sergiy K. to Germany and sent the case for reconsideration to another court. The Court of Cassation in Rome based its decision on the fact that the suspect’s rights were violated during the detention in August and the subsequent trial, Canestrini said at the time.
It is not yet clear when the next hearing in Rome will take place. The lawyer said that he was not going to give up “until the court considers the issues of international law and human rights in this case,” dpa writes. If the case goes to trial in Germany, it is likely to be held in Hamburg. The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses Sergei K. of complicity in the bombings and subversion of the constitutional order.
