Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation upheld a lower court verdict that a Ukrainian national wanted in Germany on suspicion of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines can be extradited.
The suspect’s lawyer announced the decision on Wednesday evening.
The pipelines were rendered inoperable in September 2022, several months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Who is the suspect, what comes next?
The 49-year-old, identified as Serhiy K., has been in pre-trial detention since the summer and his lawyer said on October 31 that he had started a hunger strike in protest.
He’s wanted in Germany on suspicion of helping to organize and plan the sabotage, on charges of causing an explosion and of sabotage targeting key infrastructure. The defendant denies the charges.
The man is likely to be handed over to German police in Italy and then flown to Germany.
The case is likely to be heard in Hamburg, at least at first, though if it were to proceed to convictions and then appeals there’s a good chance it could ultimately end up in Karlsruhe, the home of Germany’s highest courts.
Polish court chose another path
In a similar case last month, a Polish court blocked the extradition of another Ukrainian national, saying there was a lack of evidence and questioning the jurisdiction in the case.
Poland’s government had also made it clear it did not approve of the extradition, albeit saying the decision rested with the courts.
Six other suspects in the case remain at large.
Three of four pipelines rendered inoperable
The sabotage of pipelines running from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, with ownership split between Russia’s Gazprom and European energy companies, did not take place in German waters.
Authorities from Sweden, Denmark and Germany all launched investigations.
There were a total of four Nord Stream gas pipelines, two twinned sets of pipes, known as Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2.
Several explosions that September disabled both of the older Nord Stream pipes, which were operating.
They also disabled one of the two newer Nord Stream 2 pipes, which were never certified and activated as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Nord Stream pipelines, and German and European reliance on Russian gas, had already been a contentious issue even before the annexation of Crimea and later the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
