Warsaw court extends arrest of Russian archaeologist Butyagin

The Warsaw District Court, at the end of the hearing on the case of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, decided to extend his arrest, Adam Domansky, a lawyer for the Russian, said on January 12.

"The court decided to extend the arrest of Alexander Butyagin until March 4," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

The lawyer noted that he intends to appeal the verdict of the judges and file an appeal within seven days. Also, even before the end, Domansky told Izvestia that the defense was extending the temporary arrest.

"As for the case itself, the position will be stated at the court hearing when considering the issue of the legal admissibility of Mr. Alexander's extradition," the Polish lawyer warned.

He also added that his client's state of health is not yet alarming.

"Given, of course, the difficult circumstances in which Mr. Butyagin found himself, his condition can be assessed as relatively good. The mood, given the situation, is positive, and at the moment there have been no complaints or negative information from his side," he said.

Follow the link: The Supreme Court has put an end to Russia's withdrawal from the ECHR

He excluded the mention of the European Convention on Human Rights from his acts.

On January 9, Katarzyna Borova, an inspector of the customer service department of the District Court in Warsaw, noted in an interview with Izvestia that the district court in Warsaw would consider the issue of Butyagin's extradition to Ukraine on January 15.

Earlier, on December 23, 2025, the Polish prosecutor's office received an official request from Ukraine for Butyagin's extradition. In addition, the prosecutor's office will apply for an extension of the arrest of the Hermitage employee, which expires on January 13, RMF FM radio indicated.

Butyagin's detention in Poland became known on December 11. The Ukrainian authorities were looking for him for allegedly illegal archaeological research in Crimea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that the incident was a legal outrage. He stressed that the Russian side would seek the scientist's release.

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