Copyright kyivpost
Serhii Kuznietsov, arrested in Italy on suspicion of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, continues his hunger strike and is in critical condition. According to Ukrinform, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reported this on Telegram. “I met with Halyna Kuznietsova — the wife of Serhii Kuznietsov, who was arrested in Italy on suspicion of involvement in the Nord Stream explosions. She told me that Serhii continues his hunger strike and is in critical condition,” he noted. According to the Ombudsman, this situation requires immediate action. He stated that he has taken the case under his personal control and that “a number of concrete steps have already been taken.” “Official letters have been sent on my behalf to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy’s Ministry of Justice, European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno, the Ombudsman of Italy and of the Lazio region, Marino Fardelli, and the National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty (the body responsible for protecting the rights of detainees in Italy),” Lubinets emphasized. He noted that Oleksandr Horodetskyi, an adviser to the Ukrainian Ombudsman and a well-known human rights advocate within the Ukrainian community in Italy, is working in the country. In particular, the adviser took part in a rally demanding that proper detention conditions be urgently provided for the Ukrainian citizen, and — given his health condition — that he be immediately given necessary medication and food. Additionally, Horodetskyi personally delivered Lubinets’s letter to Italy’s Ministry of Justice. “We must do everything possible to protect the rights of this Ukrainian citizen. Serhii’s detention in a high-security prison and in improper conditions is unacceptable and violates the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,” the Ombudsman stressed. As reported by Ukrinform, Dmytro Lubinets earlier appealed to Italy’s Ombudsman Marino Fardelli, requesting that the basic rights of Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznietsov — arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Nord Stream case — be ensured. It was previously reported that Kuznietsov, detained in Italy on suspicion of the Nord Stream sabotage, declared a hunger strike in the high-security prison.
