MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. Piotr Skiba, spokesman for the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office, pointed out that Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who was detained by Polish security services, is a respected member of the scientific community, a world-renowned expert.
"We are talking about a man of worldwide renown in the field of archaeological research, a European Union scholarship holder, a man who has vast knowledge of the Roman Empire," Skiba said in an interview with TVP Info. He emphasized that international law is being observed in relation to the detained scholar: "We are taking all actions in relation to him through the lens of compliance with all human rights established in the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, as well as in accordance with international law."
Butyagin, an employee of the Hermitage Museum, was detained by Polish security services on December 4 while traveling from the Netherlands to the Balkans. According to Polish media, he refused to testify before the prosecutor's office. A Warsaw court ordered his 40-day arrest, and a formal request for his extradition from Kiev is expected.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that representatives of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw had visited Butyagin and "are in contact with his lawyer, who will appeal the court's decision on his temporary arrest."
In November 2024, Ukrainian authorities charged a Russian archaeologist conducting excavations in Crimea in absentia. His name was not disclosed in official reports, but several Ukrainian media outlets identified him as Alexander Butyagin, a Hermitage Museum employee and head of an archaeological expedition in Kerch.