Ukraine opens criminal case against entrepreneur for erasing artwork

A furniture store
owner who recently erased street artwork from the EuroMaidan revolt ignited a
national scandal this weekend, prompting nationalists to break down the store’s
glass door entrance. While criminal charges have yet to be announced against
the vandals, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko announced on Sept. 3 he opened a
criminal case against the store owner for destroying a cultural or historical
monument. The artwork was a cultural monument as decreed by the Culture
Ministry, said Ukraine’s Institute of National Memory, which recommended criminal
prosecution. Besides that, Lutsenko promised that the store will face detailed
inspection “of all state inspection agencies” in the nearest future.

Zenon Zawada: If only the government worked so
diligently in prosecuting more serious offfenses, like corporate raids. If only the government worked so
hard in protecting business, rather than prosecuting it. A major factor in this case will be
whether the store owner knew that the artwork on his property was
government-protected. Regardless, any criminal proceeding against him should
correspond with equal treatment against the vandals, who have yet to be the
subject of a criminal investigation. This situation has the potential to harm
further Ukraine’s investment attractiveness if it’s mishandled by law enforcement
authorities.