A Ukrainian former military officer is on the 10th day of a hunger strike in an Italian prison, where he has accused the authorities of mistreating him to make him confess to blowing up Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea in 2022.
Serhiy Kuznetsov was detained in Italy in August on an arrest warrant from Germany.
In a letter shown to the BBC by his lawyer, Mr Kuznetsov says he is being treated as “criminal no.1”, held in a high-security facility alongside suspected members of so-called Islamic State (IS or Isis). The BBC has contacted the prison, but it has not yet commented.
No-one has admitted carrying out the attack on the pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany.
In his first public comment since his arrest, Mr Kuznetsov writes – by hand – that “the Italians have been cynically ignoring my dietary habits for the past two months” – a reference to his vegetarian diet.
“They think that these restrictions can affect my position, and make me confess my guilt. But such efforts are futile.”
A relative of Mr Kuznetsov’s told me they had tried to deliver special food to the prison, but had been refused – and they were worried that he seemed “exhausted”.
The Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed deep beneath the Baltic Sea at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It was a high profile and controversial attack.
Many initially suspected Russian involvement and an attempt by Moscow to blackmail Europe by restricting its energy supplies.
But this summer, German prosecutors activated arrest warrants for two of the men they suspect of carrying out the attack: Serhiy Kuznetsov and a second Ukrainian citizen, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was detained in Poland.
German prosecutors have cited charges of “anti-constitutional sabotage” as a basis for the extradition requests.
A judge in Warsaw ruled against Mr Zhuravlyov’s extradition, saying that, if Ukrainians were involved, such an attack would count as legitimate self-defence in a “bloody, genocidal war”.
In Italy, by contrast, a court in Bologna last month approved Serhiy Kuznetsov’s extradition in a closed hearing. He is currently appealing against that ruling for a second time.
“He told me he had lost 9kg when I said that his clothes were hanging loosely,” the Ukrainian’s lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, said, after visiting his client on hunger strike.
The lawyer said Kuznetsov was refusing all solid food but was “doing fine and is clear of mind”.
Serhiy Kuznetsov complains in his letter about having to exercise in isolation and under armed guard and being subjected to “maximum restrictions”.
His lawyer told the BBC that he himself felt that Mr Kuznetsov had been “abandoned” by the Ukrainian government “like an old boot”.
“He was in the army, so they should know was he there or not? If he was there, they should protect him – if not, they should protect him as well,” he argues, referring to the attack.
Ukrainian officials have always denied any involvement. They declined to comment again recently when approached by the BBC.
On Sunday, the human rights ombudsman in Kyiv, Dmytro Lubinets, said an adviser was looking into the case and would check on the prison conditions.
In his letter, Mr Kuznetsov says that he understands that his government “currently has more important matters to attend to, searching for an end to the war”.
He ends on a patriotic note, writing: “I love Ukraine very much and am happy to have the honour of being an officer in its armed forces.”
His final appeal hearing in Italy is due in the next couple of weeks.