Germany Nord Stream suspect in Italy goes on hunger strike
The suspected mastermind of the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines has gone on hunger strike in protest against the conditions of detention in an Italian high-security prison.
04.11.2025, 09:17
SDA
The 49-year-old Ukrainian has been refusing to eat since October 31, according to his lawyer. Serhij K. has been in custody in Italy since the summer and is to be extradited to Germany.
K. wants to use the hunger strike to insist that his basic rights be respected, explained lawyer Nicola Canestrini. In particular, the Ukrainian is demanding the right to an "adequate diet, a healthy prison environment, humane prison conditions and equal treatment with other prisoners with regard to family visits and access to information".
Since his arrest while on vacation with his family near Rimini in August, the Italian judiciary has been dealing with the case. K. is considered the alleged mastermind of the attacks on the gas pipelines from Russia in the Baltic Sea three years ago. Germany's highest prosecuting authority, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, accuses him of jointly causing an explosive detonation on the pipelines as well as anti-constitutional sabotage. He is therefore to be tried in Germany.
Legal back and forth for months
Most recently, a court in Bologna granted the Ukrainian's transfer to the German authorities. However, lawyer Canestrini announced that he would take the case back to Italy's highest court and lodge an appeal. This court had already stopped the extradition once, after the court in Bologna had already given the green light for the extradition in September.
It is unclear when the next hearing in Rome will take place. Canestrini stated that he does not want to give up "until a court has examined the international law and human rights issues of the case". If the trial were to take place in Germany, it would probably be held in Hamburg.
