Finland's Supreme Court Rescues Russian Terrorist from Ukrainian Court
On December 8, Finland's Supreme Court decided that Finland should not extradite Yan Petrovsky to Ukraine, who is a leading figure in the "Rusich" unit. This unit is an ultranationalist group associated with the Russian private company "Wagner." The court's decision is based on the assumption that Petrovsky's conditions in a Ukrainian prison would be less than comfortable. Petrovsky gained notoriety for his involvement in the invasion of Ukraine, leading to him being sanctioned by the U.S. for the extreme brutality displayed by him and his unit in the Kharkiv region in 2022.
Russian citizen Yan Petrovsky (02.01.1987) is suspected of terrorism in Ukraine. Both he and his unit "Rusich" are under U.S. sanctions for the exceptional cruelty exhibited during the Russian invasion of the Kharkiv region(north-east part of Ukraine) in 2022.
Petrovsky was taken into custody by Finnish authorities in August after a Ukrainian court issued an arrest warrant because of his suspected involvement in a terrorist organization in Ukraine. The social media pages of the "Rusich" unit identified Petrovsky as one of its leaders.
While in Finland, Petrovsky used the alias Voislav Torden, as reported by Reuters, citing court documents. "The Supreme Court stated in its conclusion today that the extradition request for Torden cannot be satisfied," the court decision said. The Finnish court referred to one of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which recognized Ukrainian prisons as overcrowded, concluding that extradition to Ukraine could lead to inhumane and degrading treatment of Petrovsky.
PHOTO: Russian terrorism suspect Yan Petrovsky filmed his first crimes during the hybrid invasion of Ukraine in 2014. SOURCE: Video screenshot from Freedom
The court even issued a ruling for Petrovsky's release, but the Finnish Border Guard promptly took him into custody. What will happen next with Petrovsky is unclear, as the Finnish Information Agency STT, citing the deputy commander of the Finnish Gulf Coast Guard, Mikko Hirvi, reported that the border service, which took the Russian into custody according to the decision of the chief investigator, is currently investigating the conditions of his stay in Ukraine.
On the other hand, a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has already stated that Kyiv will insist on Petrovsky's extradition. In a comment to the National Television, Deputy Head of the International Law Department of the Prosecutor General's Office Andriy Hulkevych emphasized, "We continue to seek ways to detain and extradite this suspect to Ukraine... Under our legislation, he remains a suspect. We have sent relevant requests for his arrest and extradition."
Petrovsky, who previously lived in Norway but was deported for numerous violations, is a staunch ultranationalist activist. He played a role in the formation of the neo-Nazi "Rusich" unit during Russia's hybrid invasion of Donbas in 2014.