Former MP Dmytro Sviatash, tried in absentia, detained in Sweden

Detention at Arlanda Airport

Expressen reports on the detention. On Thursday last week, Swedish border police detained Dmytro Sviatash at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm. The man, who holds dual Russian and Ukrainian citizenship, presented a Ukrainian document at passport control. He was denied entry to the country, after which he was placed in custody at a temporary detention centre run by the Migration Agency in the city of Mjölby.

Reasons for the trip and defence version

According to the detainee's lawyer, Mark Safaryan, his client came to Sweden to attend a Stevie Wonder concert in Stockholm. The lawyer claims that the official reason for the entry refusal was a Polish decision banning re-entry, which is allegedly entered into the shared database of Schengen Area countries. At the same time, Safaryan insists that the situation has a political background and calls his client one of the most wanted individuals in Ukraine.

Case status and position on extradition

In the submitted appeal, the defence notes that Dmytro Sviatash opposes his extradition to Ukraine. The former People's Deputy fled the country in 2019 and has been in Russia since then. From 2002 to 2019, he held the position of Member of the Verkhovna Rada, being a member of the Party of Regions.

Conviction and new suspicions

In the summer of 2024, a Ukrainian court issued an in absentia verdict against Dmytro Sviatash: he was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment. He was found guilty of justifying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and committing fraud in the amount of 2.2 billion hryvnia. In addition, since 2023, the former People's Deputy has been suspected of high treason.