Nord Stream sabotage: Court allows extradition of Ukrainian

An Italian court has given the green light in the legal dispute over the extradition of a suspected Nord Stream saboteur to Germany. This was announced by the lawyer of the accused Ukrainian. However, the case is likely to end up in Italy’s highest court again. After the decision of the court in Bologna, lawyer Nicola Canestrini announced that he would appeal to the Court of Cassation in Rome.

Serhij K. is considered one of the suspected masterminds of the attacks on the gas pipelines from Russia in September 2022. The federal prosecutor’s office accuses him of jointly causing an explosive explosion on the former German-Russian prestige project and of unconstitutional sabotage. That’s why he should be brought to trial in Germany. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office requested extradition for this purpose.

K. was arrested in the summer on the basis of a European arrest warrant on the Italian Adriatic coast, where he was vacationing with his wife and children. Apparently he did not expect that his stay in Italy could be his downfall. The Ukrainian has been in a high-security prison in northern Italy since his arrest.

The court in Bologna originally gave the green light for the extradition in September. However, the Ukrainian’s lawyer took the case to Italy’s highest court. This surprisingly stopped the extradition in mid-October due to procedural deficiencies and returned the case to Bologna. The court should decide again in a new constellation.

The attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines caused a stir around the world three years ago. Six months after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, several explosions damaged the two pipelines so badly that gas could no longer be passed through. The explosions were recorded near the Danish island of Bornholm.