MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russian human rights ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova said that she asked UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk to address the situation around Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who was arrested in Poland.

"It is outrageous that renowned Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, an employee of the State Hermitage Museum, a popularizer of science, and a devotee whose contribution to the study of the history of the Black Sea region is widely recognized in the global scientific community, remains under arrest in Warsaw," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

Despite that fact that Russian official structures "have provided convincing arguments that such a demarche is illegal," international human rights bodies are ignoring this flagrant violation of fundamental human rights inflicting irreparable damage to the principles of international scientific cooperation, she noted.

"On my part, I expect a response from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights whom I asked to help our compatriot restore justice," she added.

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.