Russian Cultural Groups Ready UNESCO Appeal Backing Hermitage Archaeologist Held in Poland

Overview

• Members of the Byzantine Club adopted a statement in support of Alexander Butyagin that they plan to send to UNESCO through Russia’s representative after final revisions.
• State Hermitage leadership has voiced support, with Director Mikhail Piotrovsky appealing to Poland’s justice authorities and Deputy Director Svetlana Adaksina joining the club’s session.
• Polish special services detained Butyagin on December 4 while he traveled from the Netherlands to the Balkans, and a Warsaw court ordered 40 days of custody.
• Prosecutors in Warsaw received Ukraine’s extradition request on December 23, say a conviction in Ukraine could bring up to ten years in prison, and will forward the case to a court after review.
• Colleagues and relatives are raising funds—about €30,000 urgently and roughly €130,000 for several months—to cover legal costs and to seek a change from jail to bail or house arrest, with associates saying he is held in humane conditions.