The Prosecutor General's Office responds to the refusal of the court in Finland to extradite Russian militant Petrovsky
Kyiv • UNN
The Prosecutor General's Office continues to cooperate with the competent authorities of Finland regarding the suspect.
The Prosecutor General's Office continues to seek ways to detain and extradite one of the leaders of the Russian neo-Nazi group Rusich, Jan Petrovsky, whom the Finnish court refused to extradite to Ukraine. This was reported by the Deputy Head of the International Legal Assistance Department of the Prosecutor General's Office Andriy Gulkevych, UNN reports with reference to the OGP.
We continue to look for ways to detain and extradite this suspect to Ukraine. According to our legislation, he remains a suspect. Therefore, we have sent appropriate requests for his arrest and extradition. The obligation to prosecute such persons is stipulated, in particular, by the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism of 2005, which is also in force for the Republic of Finland
He also said that in 2023, the Prosecutor General's Office sent 125 extradition requests to foreign countries. Of these, 20 were granted, 15 were rejected. The rest are under consideration in the respective countries.
According to the prosecutor, one of the most common reasons for rejecting extradition requests is active hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. And some international partners believe that our country will not be able to properly ensure proper conditions of detention for suspects and accused persons in accordance with international law.
In addition, he spoke about the efforts made by prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office to increase the number of positive decisions on extradition to Ukraine for criminal prosecution.
"The Office of the Prosecutor General is actively involved in the development of legislative changes regarding the conditions of detention. In particular, the Verkhovna Rada recently supported in the second reading a draft law that will ensure the rights of persons who will be transferred to Ukraine to serve their sentences," added Andriy Gulkevych.
The Prosecutor General's Office continues to cooperate with the competent authorities of Finland regarding the suspect.
Update
The Supreme Court of Finland rejected Ukraine's request to extradite Jan Petrovsky, a Russian neo-Nazi leader, citing poor prison conditions in Ukraine that violate human rights.
