Italy decides to extradite Ukrainian to Germany in Nord Stream case
27 October 13:11
An Italian court has approved the extradition to Germany of Ukrainian Serhiy K., a suspect in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions case, his lawyer said on Monday, October 27. He clarified that the defense intends to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court of Italy, the country’s highest court, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing DW.
Earlier, the court suspended the extradition of Sergiy K. to Germany
On Wednesday, October 15, the Supreme Court in Rome unexpectedly overturned a lower court decision to extradite Ukrainian Sergiy K. to Germany and sent the case back to another court for reconsideration. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Germany accuses the 49-year-old man of complicity in the bombings and subversion of the constitutional order.
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, said the lawyer of Sergei K. Nicola Canestrini at the time.
The suspect was detained on the Italian coast
Sergiy K. was detained in the summer on the Adriatic coast, where he was vacationing with his family. According to Italian media, he did not expect that his vacation would turn into a detention. He is currently being held in a high-security prison in northern Italy. Canestrini said that he may file a petition for his client’s release, as the legal grounds for his detention, in his opinion, have disappeared.
The explosions on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the fall of 2022 caused a wide international outcry. Six months after the start of Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine, several underwater explosions near the island of Bornholm damaged the pipes to the point where gas transportation was impossible. Later, four leaks were discovered on three of the four lines of the pipeline.
According to German investigators, Sergei K. led a group of seven people, including four divers. To carry out the bombing plan, they rented a yacht called Andromeda in Germany and sailed it into the Baltic Sea. The gas pipeline explosions occurred in late September 2022 near the Danish island of Bornholm. Both lines of Nord Stream and one line of Nord Stream 2 were damaged, leading to gas leaks on three of the four lines.
Poland refuses to extradite another suspect in the Nord Stream case to Germany
In mid-October, a court in Warsaw refused to extradite another suspect in the case, Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zh. At the same time, it was decided to release him from custody, and Judge Dariusz Lubowski emphasized that Berlin’s extradition request “does not deserve consideration.” “And rightly so. The case is closed,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on the decision on social network X.
