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- Ελληνικά
On 25 April 2024, the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Cyprus issued a decision in an appeal filed by the Attorney General of the Republic, on the basis of which the conditions for extradition were met, by the Republic of Cyprus of a Russian-German national (wanted) to the United States of America (USA) to stand trial there for seven offences allegedly committed between February 2022 and August 2023. This person is accused of being involved in supplying electronic components and other material from the United States without authorization for sale to a specific industry in Russia, falsely representing that these components were intended for commercial use in markets in other countries, including Cyprus.
Initially, the court of first instance rejected the request for extradition of the requested person, accepting its position that, because of his German nationality, he could not be extradited to a non-EU country without first informing the German authorities. The Legal Service appealed against the judgment of the court of first instance.
The Court of Appeal, accepting the Legal Service's appeal, agreed with the Advocate General of the Republic that the court of first instance had wrongly held that the Petruhhin doctrine applied in the present case. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Petruhhin doctrine introduces special obligations in cases of EU Member States which do not extradite their nationals to other States when they receive an extradition request from a third State to prosecute an EU citizen who is a national of another State and has exercised his right to freedom of movement in the EU in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Republic of Cyprus, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity provided for in the Constitution, allows extradition of its citizens. In this respect, according to the Court of Appeal, the Petruhhin doctrine is not triggered in this case, since the extradition of Cypriot citizens to the US is allowed, since, according to the testimony submitted, the US extradites its nationals even to countries that do not extradite their own nationals to the US.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of the requested person, in which he argued that the offences for which he is being prosecuted fall within the concept of a political offence so that his extradition should not be allowed. According to the Court of Appeal, what is covered by the political offence exception is political rebellion within a country. According to the position of the Legal Service of the Republic, which the Court of Appeal accepted, the invocation of this argument by the defendant is not substantiated since the political disturbance is not taking place within the United States, but is taking place in connection with the war between Russia and Ukraine.
On behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic, the case was handled by the Attorney General of the Republic Ms. Marina Spiliotopoulou and the Attorney of the Republic Mr. Efstathios Erotokritou.
(MΛ)
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