EuroMaidan protesters investigated, incarcerated despite amnesty law

Authorities at the Prosecutor General’s Office said they can’t fulfill the amnesty law, reported on Jan. 8 Fatherland MP Oleksandr Bryhynets, who visited the office that day. He was told that prosecutors are awaiting an additional ruling from the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

Another activist, Yaroslav Prytulenko, was denied release by a judge on Jan. 8. He was among nine protesters arrested during the Dec. 1 clashes near the Presidential Administration and the only one remaining incarcerated. The judge said the amnesty law doesn’t offer “clear formulations” on which to release Prytulenko, tweeted Andriy Shevchenko, a Fatherland party MP.

Police interrogated on Jan. 8 Serhiy Sabov, a member of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) who led a blockade at a Kyiv Oblast base of internal army soldiers to prevent them from traveling to the capital. An amnesty law passed by parliament in December is supposed to prevent such interrogations, but police received a command that the law hasn’t taken effect, Sabov told the Ukrayinska Pravda news site. Police didn’t mention the possibility of arrest, he said. “I think it’s standard pressure on me and my family,” he said.

A fifth suspect has been identified in abusing his authority during the violent dispersal of Kyiv’s Independence Square (maidan) the early morning of Nov. 30, the Prosecutor General’s office announced on Jan. 8. He was only identified as the head of a Kyiv police division. The other suspects are National Security and Defense Council Deputy Chair Volodymyr Sivkovych, Kyiv City State Administration Chair Oleksandr Popov, former Kyiv Police Chief Valeriy Koriak and his deputy, Petro Fedchuk. Popov said he received orders to disperse the Maidan from National Security and Defense Council Chair Andriy Kliuyev, who denied giving such an order.

Zenon Zawada: It’s disturbing to see judges and prosecutors not fulfilling the amnesty law, which is supposed to protect EuroMaidan protesters from investigation, arrest and criminal prosecution. Such actions only sharpen the conflict between the government and opposition rather than finding common ground for compromise.

With the arrest of a fifth mid-tier suspect, it’s also disturbing to see the Cabinet of Ministers continuing to avoid responsibility for the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 violence against non-violent demonstrators. We expect the government continue to use mid-tier officials as their scapegoats in criminal cases being prepared.