Bulgaria refused to extradite Ukrainian volunteer Dmitry Trofimchuk to Belarus. The court ruled that the authorities of the Republic of Belarus would not be able to ensure the observance of human rights in prison.
The detainee's lawyer shared this information in a commentary to Radio Liberty. The press service of the Bulgarian court confirmed the information. During the consideration of the extradition request, it was decided that Minsk's written promises of decent behavior with Trofimchuk could not be relied upon.
According to the court, despite the official statement, the Ukrainian volunteer may have been subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading behavior, torture, and violence against him in Belarus. Now Trofimchuk is with his family. He was released from custody after being detained in November 2022.
A Ukrainian volunteer was arrested when he and his wife and three children entered Bulgaria from Romania. At the border, it turned out that Interpol was looking for him at the request of Belarus. Trofimchuk left Ukraine after a full-scale Russian invasion, resulting in the invaders' destruction of his house.
After the volunteer's arrest, rallies were held in several cities in Bulgaria demanding the man's release. The protesters said that Trofimchuk was collecting humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and all charges against him were fabricated.
Accusations against Trofimchuk
Belarus claims that in 2011 and 2012 he was a member of an organized criminal group, whose members illegally obtained the personal and banking data of citizens of 84 countries. Allegedly, with the help of this information, 160 thousand of transactions were carried out in online stores for a total of almost $8 million.
Trofimchuk denies the allegations and claims he did nothing illegal. According to the relatives of the volunteer, he was not even aware of his presence on the Interpol wanted list.
