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Archaeologist Butyagin unlikely to be released from Warsaw detention center — lawyers

The main hearings in the extradition case against the Russian scientist arrested in Poland may take place in late February or early March

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. The defense team of Alexander Butyagin, a Russian archaeologist and employee at St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, assesses the chances of a positive court decision on his potential release from the Warsaw detention center before the extradition issue is resolved as extremely low, his relatives said on Telegram.

On January 12, 2025, a Warsaw court extended the archaeologist’s detention until March 4 and refused to release him from the detention center on bail during the extradition hearings. The defense has filed an appeal.

"On Tuesday, February 10, the Court of Appeals will consider the appeal against the initial December decision to keep Alexander in custody. A hearing on the appeal against the January extension of the preventive measure is scheduled for February 24. The lawyers have asked for the hearings to be combined, but there has been no response from the court yet. If the appeals court rules in favor of changing the preventive measure, Alexander will be required to remain in Warsaw until a final decision on the extradition issue is made. However, he will be able to leave the detention center. The defense considers the chances of a positive decision to be extremely low," the statement said.

The archaeologist's relatives explained that the appeal court hearings on the preventive measure are expected in February.

Butyagin case

In November 2024, Ukrainian authorities brought charges in absentia against a Russian archaeologist who was conducting excavations in Crimea. Although the name was not mentioned in official reports, several Ukrainian media outlets identified the archaeologist as Alexander Butyagin, an employee at St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum.

On December 4, 2025, Butyagin was detained by Polish special services while traveling from the Netherlands to the Balkans during his European lecture tour. A Warsaw court ruled to arrest the archaeologist, and the Polish Public Prosecutor General’s Office received an extradition request from Ukraine. According to investigators, Butyagin could face up to ten years in a Ukrainian prison.

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