Earlier, on October 27, the Bologna Court of Appeal ruled to extradite him to Germany. The Ukrainian’s defense filed an appeal to the Italian High Court.
“It became known from the lawyer that citizen of Ukraine Sergey Kuznetsov […] “is being held in a maximum security prison without proper sanitary conditions, access to dietary food, information and the possibility of contact with family,” Lubinets wrote. “Such circumstances are unacceptable and contrary to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”
The Ukrainian Ombudsman recalled that a Polish court recently acquitted another Ukrainian citizen accused of similar circumstances in the Nord Stream case, Vladimir Zhuravlev, without satisfying the German authorities’ request for extradition.
“This decision confirms the lack of adequate evidence in such accusations and should be taken into account by the courts of other EU member states,” Lubinets emphasized.
He said that he had appealed to the Ombudsman of Italy and the Lazio region, Marino Fardelli, with a request to ensure that Kuznetsov’s basic rights and proper conditions of detention are respected.
According to Lubinets, on November 5, his representatives will try to gain access to the Ukrainian’s place of detention in order to check the conditions of his detention, his state of health and provide the necessary support.
“Ukraine always protects its citizens, no matter where they are,” summed up the Ukrainian Ombudsman.
Context
Nord Streams are gas pipelines between the Russian Federation and Germany, running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The first Nord Stream has been stopped, and Nord Stream 2 did not start working due to sanctions. On the night of September 26, 2022 in the economic zone of Denmark a leak was detected on one of the branches of the Nord Stream 2 highway. Later, similar leaks were recorded on both lines of the first Nord Stream. Shortly before the leaks were discovered, Swedish and Danish seismological stations recorded underwater explosions. The 2024 investigation did not name the culprits, but Germany issued warrants to arrest seven Ukrainians suspected of bombing.
Kuznetsov was detained in August in the Italian province of Rimini on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by a court in Germany. The German prosecutor's office stated that the Ukrainian would be extradited from Italy to Germany, where he would be tried. The investigation believes that he coordinated operations to blow up gas pipelines near the German island of Bornholm in September 2022. Kuznetsov refused extradition to Germany. He denies any involvement in the bombings.
Another suspect in the Nord Stream case, Zhuravleva, Warsaw District Court October 17 let go.
