Suspect in Nord Stream attack remanded in custody pending extradition

A Ukrainian man arrested in Pula on Wednesday on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities was remanded in custody on Thursday by the County Court in Pula.

The 46-year-old, identified as Vladimir Z., is suspected of taking part in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

He was brought before the County Court for a hearing on Thursday afternoon after being questioned at the County State Attorney's Office, which had requested that he be remanded in custody pending the extradition process. The judge's decision was confirmed to reporters by one of his defense attorneys, Matija Miloš.

“My client was ordered to be held in pre-trial detention based on the proposal of the state attorney in order to ensure his surrender based on the European arrest warrant in the Federal Republic of Germany. The investigating judge will now issue a written decision, and we will appeal against it. However, what is much more important for us is the further proceedings, in which a court panel will decide, in a non-trial session, whether the conditions for surrender have been met,” Miloš said.

Miloš confirmed that the extradition will not take place before a decision is made on the appeal. He said the defense had argued that Germany was seeking his extradition based on the same facts and legal qualification for which extradition had previously been refused in Poland.

“These are the two fundamental reasons that we have elaborated today, and this will be the subject of further proceedings,” he added.

The defense has three days from receiving the written decision to file an appeal. The final decision on the extradition process will follow after the appeal against the detention order has been resolved.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović commented on the case, saying that the European arrest warrant had been issued by Germany and that Croatian police had acted according to standard procedures.

“Last year there were about 135 such European arrest warrants in Croatia, and this year there are already 69. The procedure here is prescribed by European legislation,” Božinović said.