In brief
In a dramatic appeal from an Italian prison, Serhiy Kuznetsov, a former Ukrainian military officer, accuses authorities of pressuring him to confess to an attack on Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines. As he embarks on a hunger strike, Kuznetsov condemns his treatment while detailing his concerns about being isolated and mistreated. The case highlights the complex geopolitical implications surrounding the Nord Stream sabotage amid ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
A Ukrainian former military officer is on the 10th day of a hunger strike in an Italian prison, where he has accused the authorities of mistreating him to make him confess to blowing up Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea in 2022.
Serhiy Kuznetsov was detained in Italy in August on an arrest warrant from Germany.
In a letter shown to the BBC by his lawyer, Mr. Kuznetsov says he is being treated as criminal no.1, held in a high-security facility alongside suspected members of so-called Islamic State (IS or Isis). The BBC has contacted the prison, but it has not yet commented.
No-one has admitted carrying out the attack on the pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany.
In his first public comment since his arrest, Mr. Kuznetsov writes - by hand - that the Italians have been cynically ignoring my dietary habits for the past two months - a reference to his vegetarian diet.
They think that these restrictions can affect my position, and make me confess my guilt. But such efforts are futile.
A relative of Mr. Kuznetsov's told me they had tried to deliver special food to the prison, but had been refused - and they were worried that he seemed exhausted.
The Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed deep beneath the Baltic Sea at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Many initially suspected Russian involvement and an attempt by Moscow to blackmail Europe by restricting its energy supplies.
But this summer, German prosecutors activated arrest warrants for two of the men they suspect of carrying out the attack: Serhiy Kuznetsov and a second Ukrainian citizen, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was detained in Poland.
German prosecutors have cited charges of anti-constitutional sabotage as a basis for the extradition requests.
A judge in Warsaw ruled against Mr. Zhuravlyov's extradition, stating that, if Ukrainians were involved, such an attack would count as legitimate self-defense in a bloody, genocidal war.
In Italy, by contrast, a court in Bologna last month approved Serhiy Kuznetsov's extradition in a closed hearing. He is currently appealing against that ruling for a second time.
His lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, stated that Kuznetsov had lost 9kg during his imprisonment and was doing fine and is clear of mind.
Ukrainian officials have always denied any involvement. They declined to comment when approached by the BBC.
On Sunday, the human rights ombudsman in Kyiv, Dmytro Lubinets, stated an adviser would look into the case and check on the prison conditions. In his letter, Mr. Kuznetsov noted that he understood his government currently has more important matters to attend to, searching for an end to the war.
His final appeal hearing in Italy is due in the next couple of weeks.
