Polish court rules against extraditing Ukrainian Nord Stream suspect to Germany
The Warsaw Regional Court, considering the case of a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, has rejected a request by German authorities for his extradition.
Judge Dariusz Lubowski said on Friday that the court had freed Volodymyr Zhuravlov (name no longer withheld - PAP), adding that the alleged act did not constitute a basis for his extradition to Germany.
"The Polish court has no evidence in the case, as the German side provided only a very general background," the judge said.
The decision may be subject to an appeal.
"Polish court denied extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian national suspected of blowing up Nord Stream 2 and released him from custody. And rightly so. The case is closed," Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on the X platform later on Friday.
"This is one of the most important days in the history of the Polish administration of justice," Tymoteusz Paprocki, Volodymyr Zhuravlov's defence lawyer, told reporters, adding that the court had approved the publication of his client's image, name and surname.
Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he respected the ruling issued by the Polish court.
"In Poland a court has issued a ruling that I respect because we recognise the division of powers," he said. "When rulings are issued, especially in a foreign country, then it is not the job of the executive to get involved."
The Ukrainian diver was apprehended by Polish police on September 30 and arrested by a Warsaw court, after being sought under a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, on suspicion of constitutional sabotage, property destruction and damage to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, offences carrying a penalty of up to 15 years in prison under German law.
On September 26, 2022, three out of four lines of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, connecting Russia and Europe, were destroyed at a depth of 80 metres in the Baltic Sea, causing major disruption to their operation and reducing energy supplies to the continent.
Volodymyr Zhuravlov claimed he had nothing to do with the attack and that he was in Ukraine when the incident occurred. (PAP)
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