Italy approves extradition to Germany of Ukrainian suspect in North Stream pipeline explosions

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

MILAN (AP) — An Italian appeals court on Tuesday approved the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man arrested last month on suspicion of setting off explosions that damaged North Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany.

The suspect, Serhii Kuznietsov, has opposed the extradition and his lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, said he is appealing the decision by an appeals court in Bologna to Italy’s highest Cassation Court. Any transfer will be delayed until a high court decision, expected in about a month, the lawyer said.

“Fundamental rights — fair trial, detention conditions, functional immunity — cannot be sacrificed in the name of automatic judicial cooperation,” Canestrini said in a statement.

That includes denying Kuzientsov the right to attend the extradition hearing in person, the failure to provide all documents from Germany and poor prison conditions in Germany, Canestrini said.

Kuznietsov, 49, was detained on a European arrest warrant Aug. 21 in a campground near the Adriatic coastal city of Rimini, where he was vacationing with his family.

During his first hearing confirming his detention, Kuznietsov denied any involvement in the explosions, saying he was in Ukraine where he was serving in the army as a captain.

German prosecutors allege that Kuznietsov both organized and carried off the detonation of at least four bombs of between 14 kilograms and 27 kilograms (around 31 pounds to 62 pounds) at a depth of 70 to 80 meters (230 feet to 263 feet) in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm on Sept. 26, 2022, according to the extradition papers.

The Italian appeals court refused the defense’s argument that Kuznietsov enjoyed “functional immunity” because he allegedly carried out the attack under military orders, saying the German extradition request did not address his military role, according to court documents. It also noted that the sabotage occurred out of the war theater.

Damage to the pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

German prosecutors have given few details of their investigation, but said two years ago they found traces of undersea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that was searched as part of the probe.

The yacht left the German island of Ruegen on Sept. 8 with a skipper, four divers and one explosives expert along with Kuznietsov, and returned on Sept. 22, four days before the explosions. Kutznietsov returned to Ukraine by car, according to court documents.