An Italian court once again ruled on Monday that a Ukrainian held since August for allegedly sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines could be extradited to Germany, his lawyer said.
Lawyer Nicola Canestrini said in a statement that his client, Serhii Kuznietsov, would appeal the decision by the court of appeals in Bologna.
A different section of the same court had approved the extradition in September, only for Italy’s top court to reject the decision over an issue with the arrest warrant issued by Germany, sending the case back for reexamination.
Kuznietsov has denied being part of a cell accused of placing explosives on the underwater pipelines linking Russia with Europe in September 2022.
In a statement on Monday, Canestrini said the proceedings against Kuznietsov were “tainted by serious procedural violations undermining both legality and the fundamental guarantees of due process.”
Kuznietsov claims to have been a member of the Ukrainian armed forces and in Ukraine at the time of the incident, a claim his defence team has said would give him “functional immunity” under international law.
The Ukrainian, who is being held in jail in Italy, faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty in Germany, according to the original extradition judgement.
The pipelines that had shipped Russian gas to Europe for years were damaged by huge blasts a few months after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
German investigations have identified a Ukrainian cell of five men and one woman as the perpetrators of the blasts.
At the time of his arrest, German prosecutors said Kuznietsov had used forged identity documents to charter a yacht, which departed from the German city of Rostock to carry out the attacks.
Italy’s Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, sent the case back to the Bologna court for review earlier this month over an issue with the European arrest warrant issued by Germany.
It found the lower court had wrongly reclassified the alleged crime of sabotage as a terrorism-related offence.
“The Supreme Court hearing is expected to take place within about one month, and Mr Kuznietsov will remain in Italy until that decision is made,” lawyer Canestrini said.
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