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Polish court may rule on sending Ukrainian suspect to

Germany

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Volodymyr Z. wanted in connection with Nord Stream

bombings

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Polish PM says he should not be given to Germany

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Warsaw is a long standing critic of Nord Stream

By Marek Strzelecki and Anna Koper

WARSAW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A Polish court will consider

on Friday whether a Ukrainian diver who is wanted by Germany in

connection with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions should

be handed over to Berlin.

Although Warsaw says the decision over whether Volodymyr Z.

should be transferred to Germany is one for the courts alone,

its Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier this month that

handing Volodymyr Z. over was not in Poland's interest.

Tusk said the problem was not that the pipelines were blown

up in September 2022, but that they were built at all.

The explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to

Europe, marking a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and

squeezing energy supplies.

The pipelines were a source of conflict between Warsaw and

Berlin as far back as the 2000s when they were still in the

planning stage, with Poland arguing they compromised security by

making Europe overly dependent on Russian energy while handing

billions of euros to Moscow.

Germany's government has declined to comment on Tusk's

remarks or tensions over the case, while a Polish government

spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

One Germany diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity

due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that Tusk's comments

could harm cooperation between two of Kyiv's key allies.

However, another German diplomat said they did not expect

Berlin to pick a fight with Warsaw over the case and that the

investigation would continue whatever the outcome.

ACCUSATIONS OF 'ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL SABOTAGE'

Germany's top prosecutors' office says Volodymyr Z. was one

of a group suspected of renting a sailing yacht and planting

explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm.

He faces allegations of conspiring to commit an explosives

attack and of "anti-constitutional sabotage".

His Polish lawyer rejects the accusations and says Volodymyr

Z. has done nothing wrong. He has also questioned whether a case

concerning the destruction of Russian property by a Ukrainian at

a time when the countries are at war is a criminal matter.

"I'm personally pleased that this case is generating strong

public sentiment, including statements from politicians,"

Tymoteusz Paprocki said on Thursday.

Warsaw regional prosecutors' spokesperson Piotr Skiba said

that on legal grounds it would be hard not to hand the Ukrainian

over to Germany.

"It's very difficult to find any grounds on which we

couldn't transfer him to the Germans," he said, cautioning that

the final decision rests in the Warsaw court's hands.

REPRIEVE FOR SUSPECT IN ITALY

A second Ukrainian suspect, Serhii K., won a reprieve on

Wednesday when Italy's top court upheld an appeal against his

transfer on procedural grounds.

That case will have to go before court again.

In Poland, courts can refuse to hand over suspects wanted

under European arrest warrants if this would violate their human

rights or if criminal proceedings for the same offence are

underway in Poland.

Warsaw has launched its own investigation into the Nord Stream

bombings, but Volodymyr Z. is a witness not a suspect.