It is good that president has paid attention to case of Kuznetsov, suspected of blowing up Nord Stream pipelines, lawyer says
Mykola Katerynchuk, lawyer for Ukrainian serviceman Serhii Kuznetsov, who is suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, is pleased that the Office of the President has finally paid attention to his client’s case.
He said this in a comment to Censor.NET.
Details
"I am pleased that the Office of the President has finally paid attention to Serhii Kuznetsov’s case. We had been knocking on that door for a long time. I agree with the president that it is still too early to react to the charges, because we have not yet seen the text and do not fully understand what the legal classification is. They say it has not changed, but that looks very strange: if that is the case, then what did the Supreme Court mean when it issued its decision on the classification regarding extradition on December 20? After all, it assessed both the classification and the lawful military target and functional immunity. The court directly indicated that, for example, Article 88 of the German Criminal Code (anti-constitutional sabotage activity) cannot be applied to Serhii Kuznetsov.
If the prosecutor’s office left it in place, it means there is no preclusive effect, and that decision was effectively just background and aimed only at ‘securing’ the extradition process. In other words, the Supreme Court simply helped ensure that this extradition took place: it confirmed the very fact of his transfer from Italy to Germany and the selection of custody as a preventive measure, even despite the fact that the main piece of evidence, the DNA sample, did not match. All this happened on the basis of that Supreme Court decision, which rejected the extradition objections. In effect, Serhii was simply funneled into a system that breaks people. Psychologically, this is very difficult to withstand. In fact, he has been in complete isolation since November. He is allowed one hour of outdoor exercise a day, and after a new prison director arrived, he was once not even taken out. They simply forgot. Then they apologized for it. In other words, conditions of constant psychological and physical pressure are being created. But where, then, is the European Convention on Human Rights? Where is the European Court of Human Rights? We are filing complaints there. But they do not see this as torture," the lawyer noted.
Katerynchuk stressed that this is not only Serhii Kuznetsov’s case.
"If he is found guilty of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, this means that the state of Ukraine will bear financial liability: first, for direct damages. They have calculated around 11 billion euros there. Second, possibly for lost profits. These are losses under gas supply contracts that were not fulfilled because of the shutdown of Nord Stream after the explosion. This could amount to between 140 and 200 billion euros. Therefore, Ukraine may not receive the 300 billion euros in frozen Russian assets (Nord Stream-Gazprom) if Russia uses the German court’s decision on the guilt of a Ukrainian. If it receives around 100 billion, that will already be good," he said.
The defense lawyer admitted that he is optimistic about the fact that the president has paid attention to this case. Katerynchuk hopes that a working group will now be created by the Ukrainian state to cooperate on this issue with diplomatic institutions and Kuznetsov’s lawyers.
"And one more thing. It is unlikely, but there is a chance: after the indictment and during the trial on the merits, Serhii will no longer be held under the same arrest regime as at the pre-trial stage. There is a small possibility that Ukraine will send a letter to the court and ask that, for the duration of the proceedings, he stay at the consular institution in Hamburg rather than in prison, in a punishment cell. Given international humanitarian law and the status of a prisoner of war, if he is an officer, there is even a practice of a ‘personal undertaking’ — on his word of honor. But in general, if the state guarantees his appearance in court, the court could theoretically accommodate this. We will be speaking about the conditions in which he was held. So, I repeat, the chance is small, but it exists. That is why we will now appeal to the state and to the president so that the relevant instructions are issued and our Foreign Ministry works through this possibility. It would be wonderful if such a letter appeared," the lawyer added.
Background
- As a reminder, on July 1, Germany’s federal prosecutor general brought formal charges for the first time against Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov, who is suspected of involvement in the blowing up of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines on September 26, 2022.
The sabotage of the ‘Nord Stream’ pipelines
- On 26 September 2022, three explosions occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which run along the seabed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks.
- The governments of the US, the UK and the EU have stated that this was a deliberate act of sabotage.
- In early February 2024, Sweden closed its investigation into the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline due to a lack of jurisdiction.
- Subsequently, Germany issued arrest warrants for all those suspected of carrying out acts of sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. All of them are Ukrainian nationals.
- The Bologna Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the extradition to Germany of the Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov.
- On 1 October, the Warsaw District Court ruled that the Ukrainian national Volodymyr Zh., whom the German authorities suspect of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, should be remanded in custody for seven days.
- On 6 October, the Warsaw Regional Court extended the detention of the Ukrainian national Volodymyr Zh. by 40 days.
- The Court of Appeal in Bologna upheld the decision to extradite to Germany Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov, who is suspected of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.
- Subsequently, the Italian Constitutional Court authorised the extradition of Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
- On 27 November, Italy extradited the Ukrainian Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
- On 28 November, Kuznetsov was taken into custody in Germany.
- According to media reports, Kuznetsov served in the Special Operations Forces.
