Suspects in Ukraine: jail vs a trip to Copenhagen

Photo: UOJ

In the article "Three months of absurdity and torture of UOJ journalists: for what?" we thoroughly analysed the evidence against Fr Serhiy Chertylin and Orthodox journalists Valeriy Stupnitsky, Andriy Ovcharenko and Volodymyr Bobechko. They are accused of participating in a criminal organisation, justifying and denying the Russian armed aggression, and treason. The maximum penalty for these charges is life imprisonment. Incidentally, the threat of life imprisonment for the journalists was explicitly mentioned in the SBU statement on March 12, 2024, when they were arrested. The "evidence" of their "crimes" mainly consists of news reports on the UOJ website. There are neither contacts with "curators from Russia", nor money transfers, nor receiving of orders or anything of the sort in the case files. The journalists are blamed for reporting on church seizures, public statements or other events in the religious field. All this is classified as inciting religious hatred and treason.

However, in Ukraine, there are people who, during the investigation, were placed under house arrest (either night or around the clock), released on bail, or given other non-custodial measure of restraint for the duration of the investigation. Let's look at what offenses the courts give such such measures for. Below are just a few examples; in reality, there are dozens, if not more, of such cases.

Theft of food from the AFU

Fr Serhiy Chertylin remains in a pre-trial detention center without the right to bail. The court has repeatedly rejected his lawyers' petitions and kept him behind bars. He was arrested while transporting money to pay for a vehicle for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). In contrast, there is a person suspected of embezzling from the UAF. Not a vehicle, not even two vehicles, but 58 million hryvnias.

This person is Colonel Oleksandr Kozlovsky, the former head of the Central Food Supply Department of the Logistics Command of the AFU. During the two years of the full-scale war with Russia, he acquired more than 50 land plots, an elite car, and an apartment in the capital. Unlike those collecting donations from poor parishioners for the UAF, this is on a much grander scale. According to the publication "Our Money", the ownership rights to most of the land plots are registered to Kozlovsky's mother-in-law and father-in-law, the car is registered to his daughter, a student at the Shevchenko Military Institute. In March 2023, an apartment in Kyiv measuring 158 square meters, where Kozlovsky is now residing, was purchased. It is reported that the scheme to embezzle funds was established even before the full-scale invasion by Russia. After the invasion, within just over a year, the Ministry of Defence transferred 171 million hryvnias to companies controlled by Kozlovsky. Of this amount, Kozlovsky's wife's company "Eco Trade Ukraine" received 113 million hryvnias, and his in-laws' companies received 58 million hryvnias.

Given such large amounts of money involved, can the suspect exert pressure on witnesses, investigators or even disappear? This is a rhetorical question. Yet, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) does not even demand his detention without the possibility of bail. Instead, it sets bail at 60 million UAH. The fairest court in the world, during the session on 25 March 2024, sent O. Kozlovsky home to his 158-square-meter apartment with a bail of only UAH 6 million. This is for a person suspected of embezzling UAH 58 million! A person suspected of depriving soldiers of food! What could be more cynical? It is worth noting that during the court hearings on easing the preventive measures for the Orthodox journalists, they were not even allowed to receive a bottle of water.

Theft of Ammunition from the AFU

On 27 January 2024, a message appeared on the SBU Telegram channel: "The Security Service of Ukraine, with the assistance of the Ministry of Defence, exposed officials of the Defence Department and managers of the Lviv Arsenal who stole nearly UAH 1.5 billion on the procurement of ammunition."

Let's consider this figure carefully—1.5 billion hryvnias! This isn't just 58 million, like in the previous example. The SBU also provides some details of the scheme: "...in August 2022, officials signed a contract for the purchase of a wholesale batch of artillery shells with the arms supplier 'Lviv Arsenal'. Then the Ministry of Defense transferred the entire amount provided for in the signed document to the company's accounts. After receiving the funds, the company's management transferred part of the money to the account of a foreign commercial entity, which was supposed to deliver the ordered ammunition to Ukraine. However, not a single shell was sent to our country, and the received money was funneled into the shadows, transferred to the accounts of another affiliated structure in the Balkans." Just like that!

If soldiers on the front line have their food stolen, it means they go and buy it with their own money in nearby towns. But if their ammunition is stolen? Moreover, ammunition worth UAH 1.5 billion! This means they are left defenseless against the enemy! This means that many of them died simply because they were waiting for shells that never arrived. This is a real crime! This is where the true treason is!

And what preventive measure do you think the court chose for the leaders of 'Lviv Arsenal'? For director Yuriy Zbitnev, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose home arrest, and not even around-the-clock, but only from 12 p.m. to 8 a.m. And for the person involved in this case from the Ministry of Defence, the former head of the Department of Armaments and Military Equipment Oleksandr Liev, the court did not choose any preventive measure at all.

Gang rape

Ukraine is investigating dozens of major corruption scandals involving multimillion-dollar sums, in which suspects are sent under house arrest or released on bail. And the bail amounts are often much smaller than the money the suspects are suspected of embezzling. But here is an example of a different case.

On 6 May 2023, in Cherkasy, three men, two of whom were police officers, raped a minor girl. By the way, why aren't the entire police force of Ukraine accused of pedophilia on this basis? They don't pass anti-police bills? Well, come on. The suspects were detained, brought to court to choose a measure of restraint, and the court sent all three to house arrest. This is despite the fact that Part 3 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine reads: "Rape of a minor committed by a group of persons" provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment. This is despite the fact that based on the practice of rape cases, very often the suspects put pressure on the victim, and sometimes specifically threaten, demanding to declare that everything was consensual.

But this is another matter than journalism and news-making!

Copenhagen instead of jail

And finally, the promised story about Copenhagen. On 1 February 2023, a former employee of the Department of Agrarian Policy of the Odesa RMA, Serhiy Chukhriy, was detained. He was caught red-handed while receiving a bribe in the amount of 40,000 US dollars. In total, according to the investigation, the official demanded from the enterprise "AP Trading Ukraine" 60 thousand dollars for a positive decision on the issue of leasing land plots of 4 hectares and 1 hectare on the coast of the Danube River in the city of Reni, Odesa region.

Recently, S. Chukhriy has published a post, in which he boasts that he is going to Copenhagen to attend a concert of Metallica.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of intensified mobilisation in Ukraine, a former official sarcastically writes: "I'll play the draft dodger..." We do not know what preventive measure, if any, the court chose for him, and we certainly do not know how he ended up abroad. But the fact remains: a person caught red-handed with a $40,000 bribe goes to Copenhagen for a concert, while Orthodox journalists, whose only crime was reporting on actual events, have been behind bars for over three months.

Where is the justice for everyone? Why do some get jailed while others get Copenhagen? Is the guilt of Orthodox journalists greater than that of S. Chukhriy, O. Kozlovsky, Yu. Zbitnev, and many other suspects?

Conclusions

Let everyone draw their own conclusions from the above. It would be even better if investigators, prosecutors and judges felt ashamed of this appalling injustice, some examples of which we have presented, and released the innocent to go home.

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