You're reading: Russia could extradite Chornovol assault suspect to Ukraine

The Russian authorities are considering the extradition of Ukrainian man Andriy Zinchenko arrested in Moscow on suspicion of assaulting Euromaidan activist and journalist Tetiana Chornovol, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said.

“Currently, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office is conducting extradition-related checks regarding Zinchenko, following which a decision on his extradition to our Ukrainian colleagues will be made in accordance with international and Russian laws,” Prosecutor General’s Office spokeswoman Marina Gridneva told Interfax on Wednesday.

Under Russian law, the actions Zinchenko is being accused of constitute a criminal offense under Article 111(3)(a) of the Russian Criminal Code (the deliberate causing of grievous bodily harm committed with motives of hooliganism by a group of persons), she said.

“This crime is classified as very grave. Its statute of limitations has not expired,” Gridneva said.

On February 5 officers from the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Criminal Investigation Directorate arrested the Ukrainian man in Moscow “due to his being on the inter-state wanted list announced by the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities,” she said.

The Chornovol assault case involves two men, Serhiy Kotenko and Roman Zaliubovsky, who have already been arrested, two more unidentified individuals, and Andriy Zinchenko, Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Roman Andreyev told a press conference earlier.