Alleged separatist backer Yefremov released under house arrest

Former Party of Regions Parliamentary Faction Head
Oleksandr Yefremov, who has been incarcerated for almost three years on
separatist-related criminal charges, was released by a court under house arrest
on July 23, the pravda.com.ua news site reported, having confirmed the report
with the prosecutor general’s press service. Yefremov was arrested on July 30,
2016 on allegations that he attempted to violate the territorial integrity of
Ukraine, being suspected of financing the fighters of the self-declared Luhansk
People’s Republic. His court trial has been repeatedly delayed since then.
Among the leading business players in the Luhansk region, Yefremov played a key
role in the Russian-oriented Party of Regions before it imploded following the
EuroMaidan protest of 2013-2014. 

Zenon Zawada:  This
is the latest evidence of Russian-oriented figures in Ukraine – previously
targeted by the Poroshenko presidency – taking advantage of the transition to
the Zelensky administration, whose officials have extended an olive branch to
Yanukovych officials. The most notable recent examples are key Yanukovych ally
Andriy Portnov launching an avalanche of criminal complaints against Poroshenko
officials (and calling for their lustration), and pro-Putin forces being
allowed to expand their influence in the mass media without any signs of
resistance.

We are confident Yefremov would not have been released
under house arrest had Poroshenko been re-elected, and this court ruling was
the result of backroom machinations that evaded the Zelensky administration’s
radar. Moreover, if Zelensky is committed to allowing the courts to operate
independently, he is powerless to combat this possible corruption.

Yefremov was the highest profile politician to have
been arrested and incarcerated in the last five years. But his criminal charges
were not successfully tried in court, let alone leading to a conviction. We
believe Yefremov’s conviction will be among the key litmus tests for the new
prosecutor general. If he fails to take advantage of such low-hanging fruit
(given that he’s already under arrest, much evidence has been collected and
he’s highly unpopular among the public), then it’s doubtful any other high
profile figures will ever be convicted for the killings in the EuroMaidan and
the war in Donbas.