A three-judge panel of the Pula District Court ruled that Ukrainian citizen Vladimir Zhuravlev may be extradited to Germany, where he is being investigated for alleged involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in 2022. The decision was reported by the Croatian daily Večernje list.
Zhuravlev was detained in Pula in August on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities. According to the German prosecutor's office, he is a professional diver suspected of having participated in the placement of explosive devices on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
The German materials claim that the group acted "on the orders and with the approval of state authorities of Ukraine". Kiev denies that the Ukrainian state was involved in the sabotage.
Initially, the German arrest warrant was related to the crime of sabotage, but the charge was later reformulated as "war crime - attack on civilian objects". The change also led to the postponement of the previous session of the Croatian court.
According to "Večerni list" Zhuravlev arrived in Pula from Poland with a false identity. According to the publication's sources, he was a consultant on the filming of the film "Snake Island", dedicated to the "Nord Stream" case, in which American actor Sean Penn participated.
The court's decision can be appealed within three days to the Higher Criminal Court of Croatia. The court in Pula itself only confirmed that the decision had been issued and sent to the prosecution and defense, and its full text will be provided to Zhuravlev after being translated into Ukrainian.