On Thursday morning, a court in the French town of Chambéry held a hearing on the extradition of businessman, Vorskla owner and former MP Kostyantyn Zhevago to Ukraine, a Radio Liberty correspondent reports.
The meeting, which lasted about two hours, began with a question to Konstantin Zhevago - does he agree to extradition? He answered in the negative. He came to the court with three of his Parisian lawyers, who stated that Ukraine could not guarantee a fair trial under martial law, and could not guarantee the safety of Konstantin Zhevago at a time when the entire territory of the country was under regular bombardment by the Russian army.
Prosecutor Richard Palin stated that he saw no motive for refusing extradition, as Ukraine respects European laws and is improving its legislation in this regard. The prosecutor also noted that everyone is equal before the court, regardless of their status, and statements about the political motivation of the prosecution of Konstantin Zhevago are an attempt to single out this case, and there are no grounds for this. In addition, the prosecutor stated that he did not see any threat to the life of Konstantin Zhevago, as the main military events in Ukraine are taking place in Donbas, and, in the prosecutor's opinion, there is no risk in the rest of Ukraine.
The judge heard both sides and said that the decision would be announced on March 30.
"I believe in French justice. My team of lawyers presented all our arguments and now we are waiting for the decision. If we do not agree with it, we will appeal, but, I repeat, I have no doubt in the fairness of the French court," Konstantin Zhevago said in a commentary to Radio Liberty after the court session.
Kostyantyn Zhevago was detained on December 27 at a ski resort in Courchevel at the request of the Ukrainian authorities. The former member of the Verkhovna Rada is suspected of embezzling $113 million from the Finance and Credit Bank, which caused damage to its depositors and the interests of the state. Finance and Credit Bank went bankrupt in 2015.