Appeals court blocks extradition of Ukrainian national

On April 9, 2026, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed an appeal by the Attorney General, upholding a Limassol District Court ruling to block the extradition of a Ukrainian citizen. The individual is accused of embezzlement and abuse of power involving a state company in Ukraine between 2015 and 2016, with alleged losses totaling tens of millions of hryvnias. The court cited risks of inhumane or degrading treatment as the primary reason for the refusal. Legal records show the citizen left Ukraine legally through Odesa Airport on November 15, 2017, and has resided in Cyprus legally since 2018. His family, who arrived in 2022, is currently under temporary protection status. The ruling noted that Ukrainian authorities had previously failed twice in 2018 to obtain a valid arrest warrant due to procedural errors, as the suspect had not officially attained the status of a suspect. The court highlighted that despite identical data, a third arrest attempt was accepted by Ukrainian courts, but those initial rejections were never appealed by the state. Consequently, the extradition request was denied.