A district court in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Tuesday ordered the extradition to Russia of Israeli citizen Alex Brodsky, formerly known as Alexey Kertsgur, who is accused of involvement in the 2009 hijacking of the cargo ship Arctic Sea.
Brodsky, 47, was arrested in Cyprus on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by Russia through Interpol. He faces charges of aggravated piracy, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Russian law. His attorney, Nir Yaslovitzh, said he would appeal the ruling to Cyprus’ Supreme Court.
Russian authorities accuse Brodsky of taking part in the planning and execution of the hijacking of the Malta-flagged Arctic Sea, which left the Finnish port of Jakobstad on July 23, 2009, carrying a cargo of timber.
According to investigators, armed men posing as police officers boarded the vessel in the Baltic Sea a day later during the night. The assailants allegedly beat the ship’s 15 Russian crew members, bound them and locked them in cabins before taking control of the vessel.
The hijacking sparked widespread speculation at the time, including claims that the ship was carrying secret Russian weapons or was linked to intelligence services. Russian authorities denied those allegations, describing the incident as an act of piracy.
The Russian navy intercepted the ship on Aug. 17, 2009, near Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean. Eight principal suspects, mostly from Estonia and Latvia, were arrested, tried and convicted of piracy and kidnapping in a Russian court in 2011. They received prison sentences of up to 15 years. The defendants claimed they were mercenaries seeking to increase demand for maritime security services.
A parallel investigation in Latvia in 2009 identified Kertsgur, then described as a Riga-based advertising businessman, as allegedly involved in the planning and logistics of the attack, including recruitment of personnel. If prosecuted in Russia, he is expected to face charges of armed piracy, kidnapping and extortion.
Russian authorities have said they previously sought his extradition from Israel after he fled there, but were unsuccessful. They also alleged that he had served as a security guard for Israel’s president between 2003 and 2006 and had served in the military in Jerusalem. Yaslovitzh rejected those claims as false, saying his client never worked at the President’s Residence and served instead in the Border Police in Jerusalem.
Attorney Nir YaslovitzhBrodsky arrived in Cyprus aboard a Mano Maritime cruise ship, according to his attorney, and was unaware that an international arrest warrant was in effect. His defense argued before the court that it was a case of mistaken identity and that it had not been proven he was the wanted individual. The defense also raised concerns about his right to a fair trial in Russia, particularly following Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe, and argued that the statute of limitations had expired.
The court ruled that the person arrested in Cyprus was indeed the individual sought by Russian authorities. It said the legal name change from Alexey Kertsgur to Alex Brodsky in 2012 was verified through Interpol and that other identifying details, including date of birth, place of birth and citizenship, fully matched. The discrepancy in passport numbers was dismissed, with the court noting that a new passport had been issued years after the one cited in the Interpol notice.
The court further held that general claims regarding the lack of oversight by the European Court of Human Rights following Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe were insufficient. It said the requested person must demonstrate a real and personal risk of rights violations, and that no concrete evidence of such risk had been presented. On the statute of limitations, the court found that under Russian law the offense had not expired, noting that proceedings had been suspended while the suspect was a fugitive and that Russian authorities had continued efforts to locate him.
The court concluded that all formal and substantive conditions under Cyprus’ extradition law and the European Convention on Extradition had been met and ordered Brodsky held in custody pending completion of the extradition process.
In a statement, Yaslovitzh said a detailed appeal would be filed in the coming days. He said Russian representatives had made politically charged claims during the extradition proceedings, including allegations that Brodsky served as a bodyguard to Israel’s president and fought in “occupied territories in East Jerusalem.”
“These are statements of a clearly political nature that are irrelevant to the criminal proceeding and raise real concern that the extradition request is driven by political considerations and nothing more,” Yaslovitzh said.
He called on the Foreign Ministry to urgently review the matter and use available diplomatic tools. “The proceedings are not over, and the appeal will address the full range of legal flaws in the district court’s decision,” he said.