Italy denies extradition of opposition politician

The Prosecutor General of Italy did not find grounds to grant a request from Ukraine to extradite former governor of Kharkiv region Arsen Avakov, the Ukrainian opposition politician wrote on his Facebook page yesterday. Avakov said the decision noted the political nature of charges against him and past instances of politically motivated criminal charges in Ukraine. Avakov narrowly missed election as Kharkiv mayor by less than 1 pp in a local election in October 2010 that he claims was falsified and was ultimately won by a politician linked to the Party of Regions.

Brad Wells: The Italian ruling is another damning international conclusion based on the perceived political situation in Ukraine and follows last year’s granting of political asylum by the Czech Republic to Bogdan Danylyshyn, a former economy minister, and Oleksandr Tymoshenko, husband of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. We continue to believe that the refusal to allow Ukrainian law enforcement to extradite these individuals will not be enough to get the government to change its course on criminal cases and should boost sympathy for the opposition and its new “Ukraine without Yanukovych” campaign.