You're reading: Melnychenko’s lawyer says ex major could be extradited to the United States

A lawyer of ex Major Mykola Melnychenko, Mykola Nedilko, has said that his client could be extradited from Italy to the Untied States, as a witness protection program has been applied to him and members of his family since 2000.

The lawyer told reporters on Saturday that he learnt about the
detention of Melnychenko from media reports, as he did not have contacts
with his client.

He also does not rule out that Melnychenko could be extradited to
Ukraine and would be at once delivered to Shevchenkivsky District Court
in Kyiv to punish him. However, he said that the Prosecutor General’s
Office is to inform the defence party on the actions so the lawyer could
be present at a court hearing.

“If Melnychenko were extradited to the United States, he cannot be
sent to Ukraine, as the United States and Ukraine do not have an
agreement on extradition of people on wanted lists. In addition, the key
factor is the witness protection program applied to Melnychenko and his
family members in the Untied States,” Nedilko said.

Answering a question if he or another lawyer of Melnychenko, Pavlo
Sychev, plans to leave for Italy, Nedilko said that there is no a
necessity now.