Polish judge refuses to extradite Ukrainian Nord Stream blasts suspect

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

A Polish judge has refused to extradite a Ukrainian citizen – suspected by Germany of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 – arguing that if Ukraine was responsible for the attack, then it was a "just" act.

Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was brought to Warsaw District Court in handcuffs, was detained in Poland last month on a European arrest warrant.
...
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government is a key ally of war-torn Ukraine, immediately posted on X that the ruling was right.

"Case closed," he wrote.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8drmzv98jzo

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A similar case in Italy initially had a judge allowing the extradition, but "the top appeals court" annulled that, meaning the case starts again.

[James48]

1. Interesting.

I can see where they could very well declare that it was a military action, and therefore legal under international law. It’s a stretch, but there is a valid argument to be made.

It would be much clearer if the man was a uniformed soldier/military person. Otherwise you have a civilian committing an act of war.

[pecosbob]

2. Why would any European nation still have an active extradition treaty with gangster Russia is beyond me.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. It's not to extradite to Russia, it's to extradite to Germany

The other end of the pipelines. The pipelines were not in active use at the time they were blown up, but could have been in the future.