The district court on Monday granted a 40-day custody order for Volodymyr Zh., who is wanted under a European arrest warrant issued by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe over suspected sabotage, property damage and destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The closed-door hearing rejected a prosecution bid to hold him for 100 days.
“The court did not agree with the prosecutor’s request for 100 days, applying a 40-day temporary arrest,” defense lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki told reporters after the session.
He said he would appeal, so his client can prepare his case while at liberty.
Paprocki argued that Zh. has lived in Poland for more than three years, runs a business and has applied to buy property.
“Despite all these elements, the court assumes a Ukrainian citizen may leave Poland. The defense will challenge this,” he said, adding that the ongoing war beyond Poland’s eastern border should matter, but “the court does not see it as a basis” in this case.
Court spokesperson Judge Anna Ptaszek said the panel “significantly limited” the custody period from the 100 days requested to 40 days from the time of arrest, which ends on Nov. 9 at 7:40. She said the 40-day term reflects the time in which the first-instance proceedings should conclude and follows rules governing European arrest warrants.
Although Zh. has a registered address in Poland, steps taken last year under the European arrest warrant and a European investigation order showed he was not present, Ptaszek said. The court therefore found a risk of hiding or flight. Zh. holds two passports; pledges to surrender them were deemed insufficient to lift the custody request.
The suspect was detained on Sept. 30 at his home and is held at the Warsaw Remand Centre. Last Wednesday, the court initially ordered seven days’ arrest. Any decision on surrender to Germany will also be made by the court after reviewing the case file, which must be done within 100 days. Prosecutors said on Friday that German materials had already been sent by email; Ptaszek said a hearing date on extradition would be set soon.
Three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline strings were damaged on Sept. 26, 2022, on the Baltic Sea floor at a depth of about 80 meters. The 49-year-old Ukrainian denies involvement and says he was in Ukraine at the time.
(jh)
Source: PAP