The French court did not accept the arguments of the Ukrainian side regarding guarantees of ensuring Mr. Zhevago's right to a fair and impartial trial, recognizing that there are significant risks of violating his fundamental rights."The court cannot conclude that the party requesting extradition is capable of guaranteeing that Kostyantyn Zhevago will appear before a court that ensures fundamental guarantees of procedural justice and protection of human rights," the decision states.It was previously reported that the extradition request for Mr. Zhevago was initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) as part of an investigation into a criminal proceeding concerning the alleged provision of an improper benefit to a representative of the judiciary.Mr. Zhevago emphasized that the case against him is being conducted in violation of the basic principles of the right to a defense and shows signs of political persecution and pressure."This decision proves once again that the criminal proceedings against me have nothing to do with justice. I hope that NABU and SAPO will finally hear the position of international courts and start acting exclusively within the law," noted Kostyantyn Zhevago.Mr. Zhevago's lawyers have repeatedly reported numerous procedural violations by NABU and SAPO in this case. Among them are the denial of the right to a defense as a result of an unprecedented in absentia investigation (without the participation of the suspect), which directly contradicts many decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and Ukraine's obligations to the Council of Europe; the baseless declaration of him as wanted, even while NABU and SAPO investigators were personally conducting investigative actions with Kostyantyn Zhevago's participation at his address in France; and many other violations.From the beginning of the criminal proceedings, Kostyantyn Zhevago has consistently stated his non-involvement in the incriminated events and has provided full cooperation to the investigation. However, the prosecution is ignoring the available evidence of his innocence and continues the baseless persecution.