In protest against the conditions of his detention in a high-security prison in Italy, a 49-year-old Ukrainian, suspected in the case of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions, has started a hunger strike, UNN reports with reference to Tagesspiegel.
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"The 49-year-old Ukrainian has been refusing food since October 31, his lawyer said. Serhiy K. has been in pre-trial detention in Italy since the summer and is to be extradited to Germany," the publication states.
As his lawyer Nicola Canestrini explained, K. wants to achieve the observance of his fundamental rights through the hunger strike. The Ukrainian demands, in particular, the right to "adequate nutrition, a healthy prison environment, humane conditions of detention, and equal treatment with other prisoners regarding family visits and access to information."
He was arrested in August while on vacation with his family near Rimini. The German Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses him of complicity in organizing the explosions on the gas pipelines and unconstitutional sabotage. In this regard, he is to appear before a court in Germany, the publication writes.
Recently, a court in Bologna granted the request for the extradition of the Ukrainian citizen to the German authorities. However, lawyer Canestrini stated that he would appeal this decision to the Supreme Court of Italy.
The Supreme Court had already once halted the extradition after the Bologna court gave its approval for extradition in September.
It is unclear when the next hearings in Rome will take place. Canestrini stated that he would not give up "until the court considers the issues of international law and human rights in this case." If the case goes to court in Germany, it will most likely take place in Hamburg, the publication indicates.