MILAN (Reuters) -An Italian court has ordered the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating attacks on Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in 2022, a ruling reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday showed, but he plans a further appeal.
The man, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, was arrested last month near the Italian coastal town of Rimini on a European warrant.
His defence team said he would take his case to the Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court.
“Fundamental rights – fair trial, detention conditions, functional immunity – cannot be sacrificed in the name of automatic judicial cooperation,” they said.
Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, prompting a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies on the continent. No one has taken responsibility for the blasts and Ukraine has denied any role.
The suspect was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, according to a statement issued by the German prosecutor’s office in August.
He faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.
(Reporting by Emilio ParodiWriting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Keith Weir)
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