Sergei Monich, a Belarusian national suspected of espionage against Poland, has been extradited to the country by the Lithuanian authorities, the Regnum news agency reported with reference to the Lithuanian prosecutor general's office.
Sergei Monich, a Belarusian national suspected of espionage against Poland, has been extradited to the country by the Lithuanian authorities, the Regnum news agency reported with reference to the Lithuanian prosecutor general's office.
Mr. Monich was arrested in the Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius on November 25, 2006 on suspicion of spying against Poland.
A month later, the Vilnius District Court ruled that the Belarusian citizen should be handed over to Poland in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition and Lithuanian regulations.
Mr. Monich challenged the extradition ruling but the appeal was turned down by Lithuania's Court of Appeals earlier this month.
On January 10, when the Lithuanian court began examining the extradition appeal, Minsk reportedly appealed to the Council of Europe against the extradition of the Belarusian national to Poland.
Poland reportedly suspects Mr. Monich of gathering information about Polish defense authorities and intelligence agents for a foreign intelligence service.
A Polish prosecutor, Janusz Kaczmarek, earlier claimed that Mr. Monich had been recruiting Polish citizens in Lithuania and gathering information from them for a reward.
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