By Naharnet Newsdesk
Copyright naharnet
The owner of the ship Rhosus that delivered the ammonium nitrate that exploded at Beirut’s port, Igor Grechushkin, has been arrested in Bulgaria based on a red Interpol notice issued by the Lebanese judiciary in 2020, Al-Jadeed TV reported on Monday.
Grechushkin is a citizen of both Russia and Cyprus.
According to Al-Jadeed, the Lebanese judiciary, through the Public Prosecution Office, was informed of the arrest and is preparing an extradition file, given the lack of a prisoner exchange agreement between Lebanon and Bulgaria.
The extradition file will also include legal information confirming to Bulgarian authorities “the importance of handing over the ship’s owner and the need for cooperation in questioning him as part of the port investigations.”
“This will enable the discovery of basic and important facts about the cargo, its owner, and its destination. The information indicates that the extradition request will proceed through legal frameworks, from the Public Prosecution Office via the Ministry of Justice to the Bulgarian authorities, who will decide whether to extradite the detainee to Lebanon, leave him in Bulgaria, or return him to his home country, Russia,” the TV network said.
“If Bulgaria refuses to cooperate with Lebanon, there is no legal obstacle that prevents the judicial investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, from traveling to Bulgaria or Russia to conduct interrogation after coordination with the judicial authorities there, despite the current legal obstacles (in Lebanon) that include a (Lebanese) travel ban on Bitar,” Al-Jadeed added.
