The Prague City Court partially acquitted Russian Alexander Franchetti, who participated in the occupation of Crimea.
This is reported by ČTK.
Franchetti was accused of forcibly detaining at least 11 Ukrainians in 2014, but it has not yet been proven.
The court released Franchetti from custody, but the Prague prosecutor filed an appeal against this decision. Franchetti was not charged with creating an organized criminal group, so he still faces up to 15 years in prison.
- On September 12, 2021, the Czech police detained Franchetti at the Prague airport at the request of Ukraine. He was a participant in the "Crimean Spring", which ended with the occupation of the peninsula by Russia.
- Franchetti, according to the investigation, was one of the organizers of the armed group "Defense of Sevastopol", which created the "Northern Wind" unit. Together with his participants, he detained and detained patriotically minded residents in Chornorichynskyi Canyon.
- The Prosecutor Generalʼs Office reported that Ukraine would request Franchettiʼs extradition for trial. On September 14, the Prague court took the Russian into custody. He said at the court that this is "a step towards fascism". On June 23, 2022, the Prague court did not allow Franchetti to be extradited to Ukraine.