Russia Cannot Extradite Owner Of Ship Suspected Of Beirut Blast Involvement - Prosecutors

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) Russia cannot extradite the owner and the captain of Rhosus, a ship which carried the explosive that detonated while in storage in Beirut port, Russian prosecutors said Friday.

The NNA news agency reported that Interpol issued an arrest warrant for the owner and captain of the ship as well as for a businessperson from Portugal, who inspected the storage in 2014.

"The Office of the Russian Prosecutor General did not receive any extradition requests from relevant foreign agencies regarding I. Grechuskin and [ship captain [Boris] Prokoshev. COnsidering that Grechushkin and Prokoshev are Russian citizens, they cannot be extradited to any country or be detained in Russia on the request of foreign agencies that ask for their extradition," the prosecutors' office said.

According to media reports, Rhosus, owned by Igor Grechushkin, was carrying ammonium nitrate from Batumi to Mozambique but had to make an unscheduled stop in Lebanon to deal with technical issues. After inspection, the port authority banned the vessel from going back to the sea. Grechushkin went bankrupt, so the crew had to spend about a year in Lebanon on their own. In 2014. ammonium nitrate was unloaded from the ship into a storage unit in the port.

The explosion rocked the port and the city on August 4 last year. More than 6,000 people were injured, 190 died. Hundreds of houses as well as power and water systems were damaged. Beirut remained under the state of emergency until September 19. The city then saw a series of anti-government rallies, which prompted the government to resign.