Presumption of guilt: Russian archaeologist in Ukraine faces 10 years in prison
Poland will extradite Russian Alexander Butyagin to Kiev, a court in Warsaw ruled on March 18. The defense is appealing against it — it fears for the life and health of the archaeologist in the Ukrainian pre-trial detention center. The Russian Federation considers the accusations absurd and will seek Butyagin's return to his homeland as soon as possible, the embassy in Poland told Izvestia. Experts believe that in Kiev, the scientist is likely to replenish the exchange fund, and his fate can be repeated by any Russian who visited Crimea after 2014 and is in Europe.
The consequences of Alexander Butyagin's sentence
Following the meeting on March 18, the Warsaw court decided to extradite scientist Alexander Butyagin to Ukraine. In early December, he was detained by Polish special services at the request of Kiev, which accuses the Russian of illegally destroying a cultural heritage site in Crimea and causing damage in excess of UAH 201.6 million (about $5 million). In Ukraine, he faces up to 10 years in prison, according to lawyers.
The Russian's lawyers said that there was no evidence of his destruction of archaeological sites in the case file, and the amount of damage had not been confirmed.
"The expert opinion classifies Butyagin's actions as excavations and does not indicate which elements of the Ancient City of Myrmeky he allegedly destroyed, nor what their cost would be," the archaeologist's defense claims.
In addition, the defense pointed to the expiration of the statute of limitations: the incriminated events date back to 2014-2019, and the deadline came on January 1, 2024, even before the indictment. Butyagin's defense will appeal this decision. The scientist said that he was not surprised by the position of the Polish court. At the meeting, he again rejected the accusations of the destruction of cultural property and stressed that he acted on the basis of permission from the Russian authorities.
The Russian Embassy in Poland called Butyagin's detention a blatant violation and the charges against him absurd.
— In recent years, there has been an increase in cases of harassment of Russian citizens in Poland, accusations against them under completely far-fetched pretexts. The embassy, within its competence, is seeking the release of our citizen and his return to his homeland," the diplomatic mission told Izvestia.
Earlier, Vadim Maiko, director of the Institute of Archeology of Crimea, Doctor of Historical Sciences, told the media that Alexander Butyagin has been working in Crimea since 1998. Since 1999, he has received a special permit for the right to conduct archaeological research on the peninsula. According to him, all the excavation reports and open sheets are in the archive of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev.
Alexander Butyagin
After the court's decision was announced, Maiko said he hoped for Butyagin's exchange as soon as possible. The archaeologist's relatives are seriously concerned about his fate, as they fear for his life and health in Ukraine.
"The defense is convinced that extradition means for Butyagin not only the risk of an unfair trial, but also a direct threat to his life and health if he is placed in a Ukrainian pre—trial detention center," the Lawyer for Alexander Butyagin Telegram channel reports, where close friends publish news about him.
The extradition of the scientist to Ukraine is contrary to international law, and all those involved will be prosecuted by Russia and held accountable, Oleg Karpovich, head of the Department of the MGIMO Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. He stressed that Moscow would strongly object to any repression against its citizens.
Obviously, in response to the decision of the Polish court, there will be a harsh reaction from the Kremlin. Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian side would seek the scientist's release. As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized, Russia hopes that Poland understands the absurdity of the accusations against Butyagin. According to her, such actions will not remain without consequences.
Could such a story happen to other scientists?
After Butyagin's arrest, the scientific community has repeatedly stated that Russian archaeologists will continue to do their work, despite political pressure. "This is a matter of Russia's national interests. We must do our duty," said Dmitry Vasiliev, associate professor of the Department of Russian History at the V.N. Tatishchev Astrakhan State University.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that today Poland, like the whole of Europe, has become an unsafe place for Russian scientists who may become victims of political provocation. Andrei Ordash, Charge d'affaires of the Russian Federation in the country, urged Russians to refrain from traveling to Poland unless absolutely necessary.
There is a high probability that a similar story could repeat itself with any other Russian who arrives in Poland or the Baltic States and is subject to an arrest and extradition request from Ukraine, said Oleg Nemensky, a leading researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. According to him, in order to further replenish the exchange fund, Ukraine will send similar requests to European countries that may be visited by one or another Russian.
"It is unlikely that this could be anywhere in France or Germany, but in Poland and the Baltic states such a situation is quite likely, given their degree of involvement in the conflict in Ukraine," the expert told Izvestia. — A request can be made for almost any citizen: if Ukraine has information that even the simplest Russian, an ordinary person, has been to Crimea after 2014, this will be enough to make a request.
He urged caution to anyone planning a trip to Europe. In February, the Korean scholar Andrei Lankov was expelled from Latvia and declared persona non grata with an indefinite ban on entry, being included in the list of undesirable persons by decision of the country's foreign minister. Lankov said there was no explanation in the documents shown to him. The Latvian side claims that the decision was made on the basis of information from the security services.
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