Attack on Nord Stream pipelines was not an “act of war”

The explosive attacks that severely damaged three of the four Nord Stream pipelines on September 26, 2022, were not an act of war. With this reasoning, which was published on January 15, the Federal Court of Justice rejected on December 10 the appeal against detention filed by Ukrainian Serhij K., who was extradited to Germany by the Italian judiciary on November 27 (251111). The defendant is accused of having been a member of the crew of the sailing yacht “Andromeda” in a leading position, from which divers attached explosive devices to three pipes of the Nord Stream pipelines. This means that there is a high probability that he is guilty of causing an explosion with explosives in conjunction with the destruction of buildings and disruption of public services. German jurisdiction in this case is based on the fact that the result of the crime – the inoperability of the pipelines – also occurred on German territory, where the pipelines ended.

An act of violence controlled by secret services would also be subject to criminal prosecution.

Contrary to what was claimed in the appeal against detention, it is highly unlikely that the accused could invoke a right to cause damage under international humanitarian law (“combatant privilege”) as a justification. This is because, on the one hand, this does not cover covert actions by military personnel and, on the other hand, the pipelines were civilian objects. Nothing would prevent the defendant from being prosecuted even if he had been “involved in the act of sabotage on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.” The “general immunity of public officials resulting from state immunity under international law” does not apply to acts of violence directed by intelligence services.

Polish court did not consider the sabotage action to be punishable

In contrast, another crew member of the “Andromeda,” 46-year-old Volodymyr Z., was acquitted by a Polish court in October and released from custody because his alleged involvement in the sabotage action was not punishable at all. In the court's opinion, it was a justified “act of diversion” against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result, the arrested man also escaped extradition to the German judiciary (251004).

Links (internal)

• Italy has extradited suspected Nord Stream saboteur (251111)
• Poland does not extradite suspected Nord Stream saboteur (251004)
• Person involved in attack on Nord Stream pipelines arrested in Italy (250805)
• Blasting of Nord Stream pipelines was probably carried out by Ukrainians (240801)

• List of links to Nord Stream pipelines