A former Ukrainian soldier is on the tenth day of his hunger strike in an Italian prison, where he has accused the authorities of mistreating him to make him confess to blowing up the Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea in 2022.
Serhiy Kuznetsov was detained in Italy in August on an arrest warrant issued by Germany.
In a letter shown to the BBC by his lawyer, Kuznetsov says he is being treated as “criminal number one”, held in a high-security facility alongside alleged members of the so-called Islamic State (IS or Isis). The BBC has contacted the prison but has yet to comment.
No one has admitted to having carried out the attack on the gas pipelines that transport Russian gas to Germany.
In his first public comment since his arrest, Kuznetsov writes – by hand – that “Italians have been cynically ignoring my dietary habits for the past two months,” referring to his vegetarian diet.
“They think these restrictions may affect my position and make me confess my guilt. But such efforts are useless.”
A relative of Mr. Kuznetsov told me that they had tried to bring special food to the prison, but had been denied it, and they were worried that he would appear “exhausted.”
The Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed in the depths of the Baltic Sea at the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It was a high-profile and controversial attack.
Many initially suspected Russian involvement and an attempt by Moscow to blackmail Europe by restricting its energy supplies.
But this summer, German prosecutors activated arrest warrants for two of the men they suspect of carrying out the attack: Serhiy Kuznetsov and a second Ukrainian citizen, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was detained in Poland.
German prosecutors have cited charges of “unconstitutional sabotage” as the basis for extradition requests.
A Warsaw judge ruled against Zhuravlyov’s extradition, saying that if Ukrainians were involved, such an attack would be considered self-defense in a “bloody and genocidal war.”
In Italy, by contrast, a Bologna court last month approved the extradition of Serhiy Kuznetsov in a closed-door hearing. He is currently appealing that ruling for the second time.
“He told me he had lost nine kilos when I told him his clothes were loose,” said the Ukrainian’s lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, after visiting his hunger-striking client.
The lawyer said Kuznetsov refused all solid food but “was feeling well and had a calm mind.”
Serhiy Kuznetsov complains in his letter about having to exercise in isolation and under armed guard and being subjected to “maximum restrictions.”
His lawyer told the BBC that he himself felt that Kuznetsov had been “abandoned” by the Ukrainian government “like an old boot.”
“He was in the army, so they should know if he was there or not? If he was there, they should protect him; if not, they should protect him too,” he argues, referring to the attack.
Ukrainian officials have always denied any involvement. They declined to comment again recently when approached by the BBC.
On Sunday, kyiv human rights defender Dmytro Lubinets said an adviser was investigating the case and would check prison conditions.
In his letter, Kuznetsov says he understands that his government “currently has more important matters to attend to, seeking an end to the war.”
And he ends on a patriotic note: “I love Ukraine very much and I am happy to have the honor of being an officer in its armed forces.”
His final appeal hearing in Italy is scheduled for the coming weeks.
