Reports surrounding EuroMaidan suspects reveal inconsistent measures

A Berkut special forces commander involved in the Nov. 30, 2013 violent dispersal of the EuroMaidan protest, Yevhen Antonov, still serves in the Interior Ministry, reported on Oct. 19 Igor Lutsenko, a Fatherland MP and member of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee, citing an Oct. 5 response to an inquiry he filed. Antonov serves as the commander of a field regiment of public safety, the ministry’s response stated. Lutsenko accused the ministry of shielding Berkut officers rather than investigating and prosecuting them.

A Kyiv district court ruled on Oct. 16 to allow a former Berkut commander, suspected in assaulting AutoMaidan activists in late January 2014, to remove an electronic bracelet providing state surveillance, the Ukrainian News agency reported that day, citing a defense lawyer for the alleged victims. The suspect, Anatoliy Lohvynenko, remains under house arrest, the report said.

The Procurator General’s Office of Ukraine announced on Oct. 16 it detained a former Berkut regional subunit commander suspected in crimes committed against EuroMaidan protesters. He was informed that he’s a suspect in exceeding his authority on Feb. 18, the day that killings began. Prosecutors submitted that day their detention request.

The Prosecutor General’s Office found no evidence confirming a Russian role in the EuroMaidan killings, Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin said in an interview in the Fakty newspaper published on Oct. 16. In response, former Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Head Valentyn Nalyvaychenko told an Oct. 18 television program the SBU under his leadership submitted evidence to the Prosecutor General confirming that Vladislav Surkov, an advisor to Putin, was in Kyiv at the time of the killings under an alias and accompanied by six FSB generals. Surkov met with then-SBU Head Oleksandr Yakymenko. Nalyvaychenko said he offered this information to victims lawyers and parliamentary committee heads. A Prosecutor General official said on Oct. 20 that the materials submitted by Nalyvaychenko don’t correspond to his claims and the office requests that he arrive for questioning.

Zenon Zawada: All of these latest developments in investigating the EuroMaidan killings reveal just how inconsistent and unprofessional the work has been. Some of the obvious culprits remain employed as police officers, while others are allowed to remove surveillance, raising the prospect of yet another Berkut commander fleeing the country. Meanwhile, the claims of top law enforcement officers don’t even correspond with each other, which is very troubling.

Shokin’s claim of no Russian role in the EuroMaidan killings won’t be accepted by most of the Ukrainian population, which saw evidence during the EuroMaidan of tortures being committed not resembling the tactics of Ukrainian authorities.

2016 will be a make-or-break year for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. With mounting U.S. criticism for failing to reform law enforcement bodies, particularly the Prosecutor General’s Office, the public’s tolerance for his inability to fulfill even the minimal responsibilities he had will wear thin. At the base of these responsibilities is the prosecution, conviction and punishment of at least one key suspect in the EuroMaidan killings, which has yet to happen. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said last month that 120 suspects have been punished, yet he revealed no names or what form of punishment.