Excavation-Permit Flaunting Archaeologist Goes Free

 

Poland has released Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin who was due to be extradited to Ukraine to face charges of carrying out illegal excavations in occupied Crimea. He was arrested while travelling across Europe to give lectures on his work. Butyagin was exchanged at the Belarus–Poland border today in a "five for five" exchange. According to Russian officials, he was exchanged for two officers of Moldova’s special services the Russians had in captivity. Alongside Butyagin the wife of a Russian serviceman in Polish custody was exchanged. Other sources report that activist Andrzej Poczobut was also exchanged. As for Butyagin, he was facing charges of digging stuff out of a site without an excavation permit, and who gives a tinkers about them, eh? If we are not going to respect each others' cultural property legislation, Ukraine should suspend all permits for any current Polish excavations there. Including the controversial Volyn exhumations.