Supreme Court rejects extradition of suspected Russian spy

The authorities have covered up the extradition case of Russians suspected of spying against Ukraine.

A Russian citizen suspected of spying against Ukraine should not be extradited for prosecution in the war-torn country.

The Supreme Court has decided that.

The Supreme Court has concluded that the Russian belongs to a particularly vulnerable group, and that a section in the Extradition Act stands in the way of extraditing the man.

The paragraph states that extradition cannot take place if there is a risk that the extradited person will be subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment after extradition.

The ruling from the Supreme Court has not been made public. Therefore, the court’s detailed reasoning for the decision is unknown.

At the same time as the ruling in the spy case, the Supreme Court has ruled on a case regarding the extradition of another Ukrainian citizen, who is suspected of having committed several burglaries in his home country.

The Supreme Court has here – unlike in the case of the Russian citizen – reached the conclusion that the Ukrainian can be extradited for criminal prosecution.

The ruling in that case has been published. It states, among other things, that based on guarantees given by Ukraine and the country’s efforts to ensure appropriate conditions for extradited persons.

High Court ruling reversed

In September, the Western High Court ruled on the cases and concluded that both men risked being subjected to degrading treatment or torture and therefore could not be extradited.

But the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Denmark insisted on its desire for extradition and was granted permission to bring the cases before the Supreme Court, which has therefore reached a different result in one case.

The case about the Russian has been shrouded in secrecy. Referring to the state’s relationship with foreign powers, the High Court has refused to grant Ritzau access to the decision of the Western High Court.

The man’s lawyer, Ib René Laursen in Holstebro, says that due to the closed doors, he cannot comment.

However, he says he believes the Supreme Court has reached the right result.

“In relation to cases with a certain seriousness, one must say that the Supreme Court has now aligned itself with the French, Swedish and Finnish Supreme Courts. So that’s fine,” he says.

The highest courts in the three EU countries have previously rejected Ukraine’s requests for extradition.

In both Danish cases, Ukraine has given so-called diplomatic guarantees that the two will not be subjected to torture or have their human rights violated.

But in one case, the Supreme Court did not find that the guarantees were sufficient to allow extradition.

ritzau