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Polish appeals court rejects complaint against arrest of Russian archaeologist

According to the judge, the defense team failed to provide a strong argument to support the complaint

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. An appeals court in the Polish capital of Warsaw has rejected a complaint against the arrest of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin.

"The court has upheld the first instance court’s decision that the suspect be kept in custody," the judge said. According to her, the defense team failed to provide a strong argument to support the complaint.

Butyagin case

In November 2024, the Ukrainian authorities brought charges in absentia against a Russian archaeologist for conducting excavations in Crimea. On December 4, 2025, Alexander Butyagin, an employee at St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, was detained in Poland, while on his way from the Netherlands to the Balkans. A Warsaw court ruled that the archaeologist be taken into custody, and the Polish Public Prosecutor General’s Office received an extradition request from Ukraine. According to the prosecution authorities, in Ukraine, Butyagin faces up to ten years in prison.