Kyiv has sent a request to the prosecutor's office in Warsaw for the extradition of archaeologist Butyagin, who is suspected of illegal excavations in annexed Crimea. The decision on the scientist's extradition will be made by a Polish court, DW reports.
Ukrainian authorities have submitted a request to the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw for the extradition of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, a research associate at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, who has led an excavation expedition in Crimea since 1999. This was reported on Monday, December 23, by RMF FM radio.
Butyagin was detained in Poland on December 11 on suspicion of illegal excavations in the annexed peninsula. After being interrogated by the prosecutor's office, a Polish court temporarily arrested the Russian citizen for 40 days.
The decision on extradition will be made by a Polish court. Before that, the prosecutor's office must assess whether Kyiv's request complies with the provisions of the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, RMF FM notes. The prosecutor's office will then formulate its own position and present it to the court.
Ukraine suspects Butyagin of destroying cultural objects
In Ukraine, Butyagin is suspected of illegally conducting excavations at a cultural heritage site and destroying its objects, causing damage of more than 200 million hryvnias (over 4 million euros). According to the investigation, after the annexation of Crimea, Butyagin, as the head of the Myrmecian archaeological expedition of the Hermitage, illegally conducted excavations at a cultural heritage site - the "Ancient City of Myrmecian" in Kerch, without any permits from the Ukrainian authorities.
Kremlin accuses Warsaw of "legal tyranny"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the detention of the Russian archaeologist in Poland at Kyiv's request a "legal tyranny."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that the decision to detain the Hermitage employee was made "on the basis of an international arrest warrant" issued by Ukraine. "Representatives of the Russian embassy in Warsaw visited Alexander Butyagin and are in contact with his lawyer, who is appealing the court's decision on the temporary arrest," Zakharova told Russian journalists.
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