Bulgarian court rejects extradition of Russian owner of a ship linked to Beirut port blast

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) – A Bulgarian court on Wednesday rejected Lebanon’s request to extradite the owner of a ship linked to a cargo of ammonium nitrate at the center of the massive 2020 port explosion in Beirut.

Igor Grechushkin, 48, who holds Russian and Cypriot citizenship, was arrested in Sofia in September on an Interpol red notice.

Lebanon has asked Bulgaria to extradite him in connection with the blast on Aug. 4, 2020, which killed at least 218 people and injured more than 6,000, and devastated large swaths of Beirut, causing billions of dollars in damage.

“The court rejected Lebanon’s request to extradite Igor Grechushkin, ruling that the Lebanese authorities had not provided adequate assurances that he would be protected from the death penalty or that any such sentence would not be carried out,” his lawyer, Ekaterina Dimitrova, told The Associated Press.

The supervising prosecutor, Angel Kanev, said that the key issue is whether sufficient guarantees have been provided that a death sentence will not be imposed, and whether those guarantees come from “the competent authority.”

“When such assurances are issued by the Lebanese Minister of Justice, supplemented by additional confirmations from the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General, I believe the conditions for extradition are met,” he said.

He said that the Sofia City Court ruled that Grechushkin will remain in custody. The prosecution will appeal the refusal to extradite him to the Court of Appeal, Kanev told reporters.