Vinnik's lawyer, Frederic Belo, in an exclusive interview with RT, noted that the issue of extraditing his client to Greece should be considered by the court separately.
“Alexander Vinnik is present in court, he is in the box for the accused.
His Greek lawyer, Zoe Constanthopoulou, and I, Frederic Belo, are next to him.
We have raised the critical issue of constitutionality in terms of the extent to which the Paris Court of Appeal has the competence to decide whether Alexander Vinnik is extradited to Greece under an international arrest warrant issued by the United States, a European arrest warrant issued by France, and an international arrest warrant issued by France. Russia, ”said the lawyer.
Belo stressed that in the event of the subsequent extradition of his client to the United States, the latter "risks facing inhuman and degrading treatment."
“Alexander Vinnik is now in a serious psychological condition. In this regard, we ask for a psychological examination. Alexander Vinnik went on hunger strike several times, and these were serious hunger strikes. He has been in isolation for four and a half years, and therefore is in a very difficult psychological state. We believe that for these reasons, he cannot in any way be sent to Greece for subsequent extradition to the United States. We ask the Paris Court of Appeal to declare itself the competent authority and to reject this extradition request made by the Greek authorities in pursuance of the European arrest warrant issued by France, ”said the lawyer.
Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece in the summer of 2017 at the request of the United States. The American authorities accused him of money laundering through a cryptocurrency exchange. Two years later, the Russian was extradited to Paris, where in December 2020 he was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. Vinnik's extradition requests were also filed by the United States and Russia.