Bulgarian Court Delays Extradition of Igor Grechushkin Over Concerns About the Death Penalty

A Bulgarian court has postponed a hearing on Lebanon’s request to extradite Igor Grechushkin, the Russian-Cypriot ship operator linked to the 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people, pending assurances that he will not face the death penalty if extradited.

“The court, acting within its legal powers, requested additional guarantees from the Lebanese state that the accused, Mr. Grechushkin, will not be subjected to the death penalty for the offenses for which extradition is sought,” Deputy Sofia City Prosecutor Angel Kanev told reporters.

Grechushkin’s lawyer, Ekaterina Dimitrova, confirmed to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) that the Sofia City Court accepted her objection over the lack of assurances that her client would not face execution in Lebanon.

The court said Monday it would formally seek written guarantees from Lebanese authorities that Grechushkin would not be sentenced to death on any of the charges brought against him—six of which reportedly carry capital punishment.

Lebanon has until December 1 to provide the requested assurances, after which the extradition hearing in Bulgaria will resume.

Grechushkin, who holds both Russian and Cypriot citizenship, was arrested in Sofia on September 5 after arriving on a flight from Cyprus. Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said he was detained at border control when an Interpol Red Notice for a man matching his description appeared during screening. He reportedly cooperated with police and requested a lawyer.

Grechushkin was widely reported to be the owner of the Moldovan-flagged MV Rhosus, a decrepit vessel that brought nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate to Lebanon in 2013. However, an OCCRP investigation revealed that he only held a lease on the ship, which was actually owned by a Cypriot shipping magnate.

The Rhosus’s cargo was later stored in unsafe conditions at the Port of Beirut, where it exploded on August 4, 2020, killing at least 218 people, injuring thousands, and destroying large parts of the Lebanese capital.

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Lebanese judges requested Grechushkin’s extradition earlier this year as part of a long-stalled investigation that recently gained momentum under a new government.