LARNACA, January 26. /TASS/. The Larnaca District Court has rejected the US' request to extradite Artur Petrov, a Russian man who was arrested in Cyprus last August at the request of US law enforcement, Judge Michalis Michael read out the decision, as cited by a TASS correspondent.
The prosecution said that it would appeal the ruling to Cyprus’ Supreme Court and asked that Petrov be remanded into custody. The judge granted the request, telling prosecutors they would have 42 days to file an appeal. Should they fail to meet the deadline, the Russian will be released.
"This is definitely a positive development. I absolutely agree with the court’s ruling, and we will fight on," Petrov told TASS. His lawyers were also pleased with the verdict.
"The international extradition agreement contains certain exceptions, under which extradition is impossible. There is also a formal procedure, in accordance with which a request is required to be filed and considered in court," Petrov said. "During the trial, the court found some violations," he added.
Petrov’s case
Petrov, 34, who is also a German citizen, was arrested in Cyprus on August 26, 2023 on a US Department of Justice (DOJ) request on charges of illegally exporting US-made microelectronics to Russia. The DOJ alleges that Petrov "participated in an international illicit procurement network," which after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine "illegally procured large quantities of sensitive microelectronics for a Russian company." The DOJ claimed, "The transactions and shipments were in contravention of US export controls relating to Russia." Petrov stated from the very beginning that he believed his case to be politically motivated.
Petrov found himself on the US sanctions list that was published last November. On November 2, the United States imposed sanctions on more than 200 individuals and entities, mostly on those in Russia. According to Washington, these restrictions target Russia’s military-industrial complex, energy sector and mining industry, and also seek to curb support for the special military operation in Ukraine and prevent the circumvention of the sanctions previously slapped on Moscow by the West.