Zoe Konstantopoulou: "Alexander Vinnik is the victim of abduction for the second time and extradition to the U.S. from Greek territory: serious criminal responsibilities of the Government, the Appeals Prosecutor and the Asylum Service.".
Alexander Vinnik's lawyer, Zoe Konstantopoulou, published a press release yesterday to report on developments in Mr. Vinnik's case.
The press release in detail:
Alexander Vinnik, a victim of kidnapping for the 2nd time and extradition to the U.S. from Greek territory: heavy criminal responsibilities of the Government, the Appeals Prosecutor and the Asylum Service - Statement by Zoe Konstantopoulou
Alexander Vinnik, who should be free based on 3 decisions of the French judiciary, was transferred yesterday as a prisoner to Greece and from there he was literally "loaded" onto a private plane for the U.S., without being allowed, despite his request and while seeking asylum, to have access to an interpreter, to me as his lawyer, to the Greek Asylum Services, before whom he had submitted 2 pending asylum applications.
The promotion outside Greek territory of a person seeking asylum constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Greek legislation. The obstruction of communication with an interpreter and a lawyer are acts that classify our country as uncivilized countries. The organization of the kidnapping, for the second time, of a person and his violent disappearance from Greek territory, with the cooperation of 2 foreign states and private individuals, constitutes a Mafia method and a criminal act.
The Asylum Service, the Prosecutor of Appeals of Thessaloniki, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, and the Prime Minister himself, to whom the asylum application had also been served by extrajudicial notification, were officially informed of Alexander Vinnik's asylum application.
The Greek Government, together with 2 other Governments, organized the circumvention of international Asylum legislation and handed over a man who, a supplicant in our country and a victim of blatant malpractice on multiple occasions, requested protection for his life, expressed well-founded fears for his life and asked to return to his 2 young children, who have also lost their mother. The Greek authorities have twice announced threats to this man's life and the French authorities kept him in solitary confinement with the excuse that he is in danger because the US and Russia are seeking him. The Greek Government handed over a Russian citizen to the US authorities, at a time when the US and Russia are at war and prisoners on both sides are being treated as hostages..
While all this was being organized and processed, all the responsible persons (Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, Minister of Citizen Protection, Minister of Immigration, Deputy Minister of Immigration Responsible for Asylum, Asylum Service, Head of Airport Police) were hiding or declaring themselves absent or sick, while I, who as Alexander's lawyer was at the Airport from 4.30 to 11.30 at night, was initially not allowed to enter the Security Directorate for 2.5 hours and, then, when I entered through another entrance, they declared that "they know nothing and no Alexander VINNIK ever came". They also declared the same to the Ombudsman's Services, which officially intervened in the case to ensure that the rights of the asylum seeker were respected. Until my departure from the Airport Security Directorate at 11.30 pm yesterday 4/8/2022 I did not receive any information about Alexander Vinnik. As of today 5/8/2022 at 14.15 no Greek public authority has informed me about what happened and where my client is.
I was informed today by Alexander's mother, whom Alexander was allowed to call when he arrived in Boston, that from there he would be transferred to San Francisco. To this day, for more than 26 hours, Alexander has not been allowed to communicate with a lawyer.
It is recalled that, in addition to an asylum application, Alexander had submitted to the Supreme Court a request for a retrial of the extradition decision, as well as a lawsuit against all those responsible for his first illegal rendition and kidnapping and requested to testify as a witness. Among the defendants is the current President of the Republic, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, who personally intervened in Alexander's first illegal rendition to France in 2020, while he himself was protected by a court decision temporarily prohibiting extradition.
What has happened in the case relegates Greece to a parastate where no person can feel safe, since the institutions are incapable or unwilling to ensure legitimacy, and since in positions of the highest responsibility there are persons who are willing and compliant to wield influence, violating the Constitution and their duty, to the detriment of the rights and freedoms of ordinary people.
The Alexander VINNIK case will forever be a huge stain on the rule of law, internationally. At the same time, it is a case that completely exposed those who pretend to be the guarantors of legality and law. The case does not end here. Because there are also people who do not accept injustice, corruption, collusion and arbitrariness.
As long as there is even one person who is being wronged, we will fight.
As a lawyer for Alexander and his children, I will be by their side in this ordeal.
A look back at what has happened in the past
Alexander Vinnik was arrested in July 2017 by Greek authorities while on vacation with his family in Halkidiki. His lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou says the reason he was arrested is that the US Department of Justice and the Greek Ministry of Justice colluded to extradite Alexander, violating her client's rights.
See also: Zoe Konstantopoulou, lawyer for Alexander Vinnik, sends a letter to the Minister of Justice
The Minister of Justice, Konstantinos Tsiaras, ordered the extradition of Vinnik to France, then to the USA and finally to Russia. The Council of Justice decided that based on the international conventions signed by Greece with the USA and the Russian Federation, it follows that in the event of a confluence of extradition requests submitted by a third country (outside the EU) and a confluence of these requests with a European arrest warrant for a person prosecuted in the requesting states for different crimes, after the issuance of irrevocable opinions in favor of the extradition of the person in question by the competent judicial bodies, the Minister of Justice, if he finally decides to extradite the wanted person, determines, at his broad discretion, the order of priority among the states to which he will be extradited.
Vinnik's extradition had been requested by three countries: the USA, Russia and France. So the Council of State decided that the Minister of Justice would be the one to determine the order of the countries simultaneously requesting Vinnik's extradition! Ultimately, Vinnik was extradited to France in January 2020 – then to America and finally to Russia.
From May 18 to 28, 2021, the trial of Alexander Vinnik took place at the Paris Court of Appeal. Alexander Vinnik has today been acquitted of the vast majority of charges (19 out of 20) and has been convicted of only one, a misdemeanor. He appealed this one charge and the minor sentence, continuing to maintain his complete innocence. The Paris District Prosecutor also appealed, requesting that Alexander be retried on all charges.
See also: Alexander Vinnik – Developments: Exclusively by Zoe Konstantopoulou
Let us recall that Vinnik is also experiencing a family drama, as he lost his wife to cancer and brain damage and has not seen his two children since he was arrested.
