Italian Court Approves Extradition of Suspect in Nord Stream Attack Case

 

A Ukrainian national who was arrested last month on charges of plotting the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline attack is one step closer to extradition. A court in Bologna, Italy has approved his extradition to Germany to stand trial, moving the process on to the appeals phase. 

In late August, Italian police have detained Ukrainian military veteran Serhii Kuznietsov in Rimini, a resort destination on the Adriatic coast. Kuznietsov had an outstanding warrant issued by German authorities, who suspect that he played a role in the complex attack on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. The 2022 subsea sabotage operation destroyed three out of four lines in the network, resulting in the largest manmade methane release in history (and a serious impediment to any future restart of the Russian-controlled pipeline system). 

If extradited to stand trial, Kuznietsov faces charges of anti-constitutional sabotage, destroying infrastructure and causing an explosion. Italy's extradition process takes time, but it is moving forward: on Tuesday, the Bologna district-level court ruled that he could be handed over to German authorities. He will appeal to a higher court, his lawyer told AFP. 

Kuznietsov denies any role in the attack, and has a three-part defense. First, he asserts that he was in Ukraine at the time of the blasts in September 2022. Second, his counsel points out that he was a member of the Ukrainian military during the period in question, which would grant him immunity. And third, he claims due process violations during the initial trial, including incomplete access to German prosecutors' files. 

German investigators have identified six suspects in the attack, and have issued a warrant for at least one of Kuznietsov's alleged co-conspirators. Denmark and Sweden, which also have jurisdiction over the sabotage attack, have both dropped their inquiries.