French Court of Cassation asks Constitutional Council about possible violation of Vinnik’s rights

The French Court of Cassation has sent a request to the local Constitutional Council regarding possible violations of the rights of Russian national Alexander Vinnik in connection with his extradition to France. The information was provided by lawyer Frédéric Belo, as reported by TASS.

The Constitutional Council is to examine the constitutionality of the extradition provision for individuals from EU countries against whom an international arrest warrant has been issued. Vinnik’s lawyers want to clarify whether this provision complies with the right to an effective remedy.

“The Court of Cassation, forwarding the request to the Constitutional Council, considered that the issue is of a serious nature and the legislative provisions applicable to the case may be deemed to contravene rights guaranteed by the French Constitution,” Belo said.

The lawyer asserts that Vinnik was informed about proceedings against him only after the extradition to France. Before that, the Russian did not enjoy the same procedural guarantees as those accused of the same crimes but temporarily imprisoned in French prisons, the lawyer added.

Earlier, in 2017, Vinnik was detained in Greece at the United States’ request.

In 2019, Greek authorities decided to extradite him to France. He was extradited in January 2020. In December, the Russian was found guilty of money laundering through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, were sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of €100,000.

The lawyers filed a lawsuit against the judges, who made the decision to extradite him to Paris, and they said that the US Department of Justice and the American embassy in Athens were directly involved in the case.

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