(Ottawa) Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani says he has not had “direct communication” with the Polish government regarding the extradition request for Yaroslav Hunka raised Tuesday by a Polish minister.
“Given the scandalous events that occurred in the Canadian Parliament which consisted of honoring in the presence of President Zelensky a member of Hitler’s criminal group SS Galizien, I have taken measures with a view to the possible extradition of this individual to Poland,” wrote Przemysław Czarnek, the Polish Minister of Education, on the social network X on Tuesday.
Asked about this upon his arrival at parliament for the cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, the new Minister of Justice, Arif Virani, declared that he had received “no direct communication from the government of Poland”.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Arif Virani, new Minister of Justice
“What I can tell you is that the extradition process is a sensitive issue that ultimately ends up on my desk for a final decision. I cannot begin on an extradition issue until it is on my desk, to avoid compromising the investigation,” he insisted.
The Polish embassy in Canada did not respond to questions from The Press at the time of publishing these lines, Tuesday afternoon.
Warsaw’s envoy to Ottawa, Witold Dzielski, had expressed his indignation at what happened in the House of Commons last Friday, but according to a message published Monday on X, he accepted the explanations provided by Anthony Rota .
Having lost the confidence of all parties, President Rota announced his resignation on Tuesday.
He found himself embroiled in controversy after inviting an individual from his constituency, 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address. However, it turned out that the veteran, whose presence received a standing ovation, was part of the 14e division of the Waffen-SS.
The Press has attempted to contact some members of the Hunka family, including his son and daughter-in-law, but so far without success.