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Russian human rights council appeals to UNESCO over archaeologist’s arrest in Poland

The council slammed the detention as "persecution of a renowned man of science and culture under invented pretext for carrying out his professional activities"

MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The Russian presidential council for the development of civil society and human rights has issued an appeal to UNESCO in connection with the arrest of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin in Poland.

"The council’s permanent commission for international human rights cooperation addressed its appeal, signed by the council’s head Valery Fadeyev, to UNESCO Director General Khaled El-Enany," the council wrote on its Telegram channel.

The council slammed the archaeologist’s detention as "persecution of a renowned man of science and culture under invented pretext for carrying out his professional activities."

"Please <…> make efforts to restore Butyagin's rights as he is the victim of human rights violations within UNESCO’s sphere of competence," it said.

Alexander Burtyagin, a Russian archaeologist employed by the world-famous Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, was detained on December 4, when he was on his way from the Netherlands to the Balkans. According to the Polish media, he refused to make a statement to prosecutors. A court in Warsaw ruled to arrest him for a term of 40 days. Kiev is expected to issue a formal extradition request for the man.

Butyagin heads the North Black Sea region sector at the Hermitage’s Ancient World department and leads the museum’s expedition in Kerch. In November 2024, Ukraine’s authorities brought charges in absentia against a Russian archaeologist for engaging in excavations in Crimea. Although his name was not announced publicly, the Ukrainian media said that it was Butyagin.

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