"Having given a try to all the possibilities to defend [Vinnik] in Greece and having failed to obtain a proper result, we have resorted to the international defence, we have submitted an appeal to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The urgent appeal was submitted today, and it is also a complaint and a call for taking urgent measures against Greece over the matter," Musatov, who has provided the text of the complaint to Sputnik, said.
He accused the Greek government of acting illegally and even trying to "kill" Vinnik by banning him from communicating with his family and receiving medical assistance.
"The Greek authorities' key goal is to break him down or even better kill him, as he has been on a hunger strike for over 30 days. His life is in danger," Musatov added.
Meanwhile, the Greek branch of the human rights group Amnesty International has refused to respond to appeals that Vinnik is being subject to psychological torture, Vinnik’s lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou said.
"I have called Mr. Sakellaridis many times, sent reminders to him. I believe that Amnesty International should have intervened, but the Greek branch did nothing," Konstantopoulou, who previously served as president of the Greek parliament in 2015, said.
On January 17, Amnesty International’s Media Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Alexander Artemyev said that the Russian branch of the human rights group has not received any appeals from Vinnik’s legal team.
Vinnik has been jailed in Greece since July 2017 at the United States' request. While Washington accuses him of breaking US law by setting up a cryptocurrency network, through which he allegedly funnelled large sums of money, France has also accused Vinnik of committing cybercrimes and sought his extradition. He is denying all charges.
Last December, Vinnik announced a hunger strike in protest of his treatment in Greece. Musatov told Sputnik that Vinnik has lost 37 pounds during the period of his hunger strike.
