ROME (AP) — Italy’s top court has denied the extradition of a Ukrainian man suspected of causing an explosion that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany in 2022, as confirmed by his lawyer on Thursday.
The Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest judicial authority, overturned a previous ruling from the Bologna Court of Appeal that had approved the extradition of Serhiy Kuznetsov, 49, to Germany.
According to Kuznetsov’s attorney, Nicola Canestrini, the high court has referred the case back to another panel of the same appellate court for further review.
Canestrini mentioned that the reasoning behind the Court of Cassation’s decision hasn’t been laid out yet, but that specifics will likely be provided in the upcoming weeks.
He also stated, “Now that there’s no legal grounds for his detention, we can explore the possibility of securing our client’s release.”
The explosion in question damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which had been transporting Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea until supplies were halted in late August 2022. The parallel Nord Stream 2 pipeline was also affected; it had never been operational due to Germany pausing its certification just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In response to the explosion, German authorities initiated an investigation, expressing a keen interest in uncovering the details of the incident.
Kuznetsov was arrested on August 21 under a European arrest warrant while vacationing with family at a campsite near Rimini on the Adriatic coast.
During his initial detention hearing, Kuznetsov denied any involvement in the explosion, asserting that he was in Ukraine serving as an army captain at the time of the incident.
Extradition documents indicate that German prosecutors claim Kuznetsov orchestrated the detonation of at least four bombs weighing between 14 to 27 kilograms (about 31 to 62 pounds) on September 26, 2022, at depths of 70 to 80 meters (230 to 263 feet) in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm.
Recently, Polish authorities detained another Ukrainian in connection with an underwater explosion, with the Warsaw District Court set to decide on his extradition on Friday, although that decision might be appealed.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned earlier this month that extraditing the man would “not be in Poland’s interests.”
