Italy to extradite pipeline blast suspect to Germany

[ad_1] Sarah Rainsford Southern and Japanese Europe correspondent, Rome

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0b67/live/e280c680-c593-11f0-b336-71a88b56470b.png.webp" loading="eager" alt="Danish Defence Handout The Nord Stream pipeline running between Russia and Germany was attacked in 2022 " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Danish Defence Handout The Nord Stream pipeline, which runs between Russia and Germany below the Baltic Sea, was attacked in 2022

Italy's prime appeals court docket has dominated {that a} Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in blowing up the Nord Stream gasoline pipelines between Russia and Germany needs to be extradited to Berlin.

There, former Ukrainian army officer Serhiy Kuznetsov will face a cost of anti-constitutional sabotage. He is because of be faraway from Italy below German police escort within the subsequent few days.

Prosecutors imagine Mr Kuznetsov coordinated and led a gaggle that planted explosives on the pipes deep beneath the Baltic Sea in 2022, although they haven't disclosed any proof.

The case has critical implications for relations between Ukraine and Germany, which is the largest supply of army support for Kyiv in Europe.

Mr Kuznetsov's lawyer stated his shopper "appears like a scapegoat" and is "very unhappy" that his authorities has not spoken out in his defence, and even confirmed that he was a serving soldier on the time of the blasts.

"If he carried out the assault, then he did so as a result of he was ordered to take action as a result of he was for positive a captain of the Ukrainian military," Nicola Canestrini stated after Wednesday's listening to.

The BBC has seen a duplicate of Mr Kuznetsov's army ID among the many court docket papers. He has not commented publicly on whether or not he was concerned within the explosions.

"The Ukrainian authorities is aware of precisely the place he was each day of September 2022," his lawyer stated. "So, if he is harmless, why do not they are saying it? If he did it, why do not they are saying it? That is his query."

The BBC has approached authorities and safety sources in Kyiv, however they haven't commented.

Mr Kuznetsov was arrested in northern Italy in late August, at a glamping website close to town of Rimini the place he had booked in for a couple of nights together with his spouse and two of their kids.

His passport particulars had been entered on-line at check-in, and in Italy that data is robotically transferred to the carabinieri, the native police.

Later that night time, officers got here knocking on the household's door.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/dd2e/live/87db03e0-c592-11f0-9e84-fdb789616838.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Serhiy Kuznetsov's lawyer Nicola Canestrini " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Serhiy Kuznetsov's lawyer Nicola Canestrini says his shopper appears like a "scapegoat"

A month later, a second Ukrainian suspect was detained at his dwelling near Poland's capital Warsaw on one other arrest warrant issued by Germany.

Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, an novice deep-sea diver, has lived in Poland together with his household since simply earlier than Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He was held in custody for 17 days, however a court docket then refused to extradite him.

The decide delivered a passionate speech, arguing that no Ukrainian might be prosecuted for what he characterised as a authentic act of self-defence in opposition to Russia's "bloody and genocidal" invasion of Ukraine.

In Italy, farther from Ukraine, the temper and the politics are very completely different.

Mr Canestrini described the Italian enchantment court docket's ruling as a "nice disappointment", however stated the struggle for his shopper would now transfer to Germany - with the intention of getting Mr Kuznetsov acquitted on the identical grounds.

Many Ukrainians take into account whoever did destroy Nord Stream to be heroes for taking out an essential income supply for Russia, and wrestle to know why Germany - a key ally of Ukraine - is pursuing this prosecution.

On Wednesday, one man stood outdoors the palatial courthouse in Rome wrapped in a Ukrainian flag and holding a poster that learn: "Serhiy Kuznetsov is a defender, not a felony."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/027f/live/4f6c3000-c593-11f0-a892-01d657345866.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Map of Nord Stream gas pipelines" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> [ad_2] Source link