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Alexander Vinnik must be extradited to Russia for fair trial , says lawyer

Vinnik was detained in Greece in 2017

ATHENS, October 22. /TASS/. Greece’s Supreme Court must adhere to its own previous decision to extradite Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik to Russia for impartial trial without external pressure, his lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou said at a session of the Supreme Court, which is discussing an appeal against the decision of the court of first instance in Saloniki in favor of Vinnik’s extradition to France, a TASS correspondent reports from the courtroom.

"Vinnik has the right to demand fair consideration of his case, because otherwise he will face predetermined verdicts. This decision (his extradition to France - TASS) poses a threat to his life. Vinnik must be put on trial in his own country, where the court will be impartial and immune to external pressures.

Vinnik was detained in Greece on July 25, 2017 at the request of the United States, where he is accused of laundering $4-9 billion through the now non-existent cryptocurrency trading platform BTC-e. Russia has been pressing for his extradition, too. Last June an extradition request was filed by France. Greece is launching its own criminal proceedings against Vinnik.

In 2017, the Supreme Court made a decision in favor of extraditing Vinnik, a Russian national, to the United States. This year it ruled the man should be extradited to Russia. As there are several conflicting extradition requests, a final decision will apparently have to be made by the minister of justice or, probably, the leadership of Greece.

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