UNSO militant will return from Poland to Kyiv as a hero, - Ukrainian experts
UNA-UNSO militant Igor Mazur, detained in Poland at the request of Russia due to participation in the war in Chechnya, but then released on bail from the Ukrainian Embassy pending a decision on possible extradition, will most likely return to Kiev as a hero - the Polish court will not be guided by legal , but for political reasons.
Kiev political scientist Pavel Rudyakov told PolitNavigator about this.
“Polish law enforcement agencies were obliged to respond to the requests from the Russian side that they had. The Poles worked as instructed. Then politics intervened, parliamentarians and the Foreign Ministry intervened. Everything has moved into the political plane, and this is not the only such case.
A similar situation is with Igor Markiv, who was convicted in Italy for the murder of an Italian journalist. Recently, representatives of our Foreign Ministry met with representatives of the Italian Foreign Ministry and talked about the need to review the court decision, citing the fact that the Italian court did not take into account the “historical and political circumstances” of the case.
The same thing is happening with Mazur - politics has turned on, and therefore the legal side of the matter is unraveling. Therefore, the Poles do not even think about transferring it to Russia. Mazur will be released, and he will return here as another “victim of Putin” and now also “Interpol, which dances to the Russian tune,” predicts Rudyakov.
Another Ukrainian expert, Vladimir Volya, shares a similar opinion. He believes that Poland finds itself in a dual situation - accusations of participation in the war in Chechnya are a significant reason for detention. However, Warsaw can claim that it allegedly does not have sufficient evidence of Mazur’s guilt.
“Mercenarism and participation in conflicts on the territory of other countries are punishable by law. Most likely, Russia took this step to focus attention on such things.
The Polish leadership found itself in a difficult situation. On the one hand, he has a clear position on supporting Ukraine on the issue of the war in Donbass. On the other hand, there are international obligations regarding cooperation with Interpol, in particular, in the prosecution of persons who illegally take part in conflicts on the territory of third countries.
I think the issue of Mazur’s extradition to Russia is not so much a legal one, but a political one.
The transfer of Mazur to the bail of the diplomatic representative of Ukraine is a political gesture designed to show that the Polish state seems to be on the side of Ukraine. At the same time, if the issue is considered on its merits, then, most likely, the Polish side will want for itself some comprehensive evidence confirming the accusations that Russia is bringing against it,” Volya argues.
Political scientist Ruslan Bortnik believes that, in any case, the Ukrainian far-right received a signal about possible problems when traveling to the West.
“Mazur is one of the most prominent leaders of the right, who, although he has recently retired, is a man with a rich history. Russia is trying to use international mechanisms such as Interpol to show that all actions against Russia, sooner or later, can cause problems - whether you are Mazur-Topoly or Yatsenyuk. I don't think he will be extradited to Russia. But certain problems have already been created for him,” notes Bortnik.
A UNSO militant will return from Poland to Kyiv as a hero, according to Ukrainian experts.