Two men detained in Poland and suspected of attacking Russian dissident Leonid Volkov in Vilnius on March 12 are set to be transferred to Lithuania by mid-May, according to Lithuania’s BNS agency, citing spokeswoman Gintarė Vitkauskaitė-Satkauskienė.
Extradition Process Initiated by Lithuanian Authorities
The prosecution did not respond to BNS’s inquiry about whether Lithuania is also seeking the extradition of the Belarusian citizen detained in Poland, who, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported, is suspected of orchestrating the attack on Volkov.
On April 19, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda was the first to announce the detention of two Polish citizens in Poland on April 3, suspected of the attack on the Russian dissident. The court agreed to their arrest and extradition to Lithuania, with the condition that if convicted, they serve their sentence in Poland.
Background on Volkov’s Case
Volkov, former chief of staff to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in February in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle, was assaulted in Vilnius, where he resides. The assailant smashed the oppositionist’s car window and sprayed tear gas into his eyes before striking him with a hammer.