"The Warsaw District Court on Thursday began considering Ukraine's request for the extradition of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who has refused extradition over allegations of conducting illegal excavations in Crimea between 2014 and 2019. Butyagin's attorney, Adam Domanski, told reporters, "He provided explanations, refused extradition, and explained at length that he had been working at the Myrmeikon site continuously since the 1950s." "Mr Alexander expressed his belief that extradition would pose a threat to his freedoms related to contact with his family, to a fair trial, and to the health and safety issues arising from his status as a Russian citizen," Domanski added. Butyagin has been held in Poland since early December, following an official extradition request from Ukraine. Kiev accuses the Russian archaeologist of conducting unauthorised archaeological research between 2014 and 2019 in Crimea. According to Polish media, Warsaw's internal security agents detained the Russian citizen for 40 days at Ukraine's request last month. Russia has condemned the detention as 'legal tyranny,' while Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the case as a 'purely political provocation.' On Tuesday, Moscow summoned Poland's ambassador to protest the detention."