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3h ago

Bulgarian Court Blocks Extradition of Igor Grechushkin in Beirut Blast Case

Prosecutors plan an appeal following judicial doubts over Lebanon's death-penalty assurances.

Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman based in Cyprus, is escorted by police before the start of his trial on the possible extradition to Lebanon, in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 10, 2025. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
Police escort Igor Grechushkin, center, from the court-hall in Sofia, Bulgaria, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, as the Sofia City Court blocks his extradition to Lebanon, citing insufficient assurances against a possible death sentence, while his revoked detention order remains in force pending appeal. (AP Photo/ Valentina Petrova)
Police escort Igor Grechushkin, rear center, from the court hall as the Sofia City Court blocks his extradition to Lebanon—citing insufficient assurances against a possible death sentence—while his revoked detention order remains in force pending appeal, Sofia, Bulgaria, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/ Valentina Petrova)
Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman based in Cyprus, is escorted by police before the start of his trial on the possible extradition to Lebanon, in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 10, 2025. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Overview

  • The Sofia court ruled that Lebanon did not provide sufficient guarantees that a death sentence would not be imposed or carried out.
  • Supervising prosecutor Angel Kanev said he will challenge the decision at the Sofia Court of Appeal, and Grechushkin remains in custody pending the case.
  • Grechushkin, a Russian-Cypriot shipowner, was arrested in September in Sofia on an Interpol red notice requested by Lebanon.
  • Bulgarian prosecutors say he faces charges including introducing explosives into Lebanon as a terrorist act that caused many deaths, as well as disabling the ship's equipment.
  • The ammonium nitrate that exploded in 2020 arrived in Beirut in 2013 aboard the Rhosus, and Lebanon's domestic probe has resumed questioning but has not issued a preliminary indictment.