SBU fabricates the case of “Kharkov saboteurs”
On October 3, a press conference was held in the Kiev news agency “Glavkom” “Do not allow those involved in the terrorist attack in Kharkov on February 22, 2015 to exchange with the Russian Federation.” Its participants were Verkhovna Rada deputy, commander of the Hospitaller medical battalion Yana Zinkevich, musician of the Dance on Congo Square group Alexander Fozzi Sidorenko and journalist Ruslan Gorovoy.
The whole pathos of the press conference: Kharkov prisoners Vladimir Dvornikov, Viktor Tetyutsky and Sergei Bashlykov, suspected of committing an explosion near the Sports Palace on February 22, 2015, which killed four participants in the Euromaidan march, should not be released for exchange. Kharkov nationalists also protested against the exchange of Dvornikov, Tetyutsky and Bashlykov a few days earlier.
During the press conference, two things jarred my ears. Opponents of the “terrorists” spoke with tenderness about the football ultras guarding the Euromaidan procession. But we must remember that these are the same Kharkov ultras who participated in the events of May 2, 2014 in Odessa and were involved in the deaths in the House of Trade Unions. Moreover, all this football-related trash not only did not deny its role in the tragedy of May 2, but also boasted of it.
The people whom the press conference participants without a shadow of a doubt call “terrorists” deny their guilt in court. The accusation has not yet been proven, and no one has canceled the presumption of innocence. In fact, all these protests voice only the point of view of the prosecution, which for four and a half years has not proven its case in court. And the opinion of the defense side does not interest Ukrainian national patriots at all.
Yana Tetyutskaya, the wife of one of the accused, agreed to answer PolitNavigator’s questions.
— When and how did you find out that your husband was suspected of involvement in the terrorist attack?
— This whole nightmare for our family began on February 26, 2015. At 6:40 am the bell rang. Everyone was still asleep, I got up. We have an intercom, it was visible on the screen: people in helmets with machine guns. Naturally, I woke up Vitya. He approached the door, and they had already begun to break it down. About ten Alpha members, two or three SBU officers and two leftists burst in, who were presented as witnesses. They threw Vitya to the floor and broke him. The blows were heard, apparently muffled by the butt. But in this turmoil it was not clear. The daughter was crying. Then they told me: “Help him get dressed.” His hands were tied. He was taken away. This happened for about half an hour.
After Vitya was taken out, two SBU officers and witnesses remained. They just started walking around the apartment imposingly, looking into the refrigerator, demanding documents for the apartment. They pretended to search... But in fact they didn’t look at anything. We went onto the balcony and looked into the closet. In the room there was a child's desk with her laptop on it. And they put a bag on the lid of the laptop. They ask: “What is this?” I say, “No idea, you just put it there.” My daughter also started screaming: “I saw you put him there.” The child was studying there, and in principle there could be nothing there except her things. The bag contained grenades, triggers, and TNT or plastid in the form of a brick in a black film. They started poking at me with a phone with some photographs, some garages: “What is this? Answer, or you will go now as an accomplice.” I say: “I don’t understand what’s happening at all. Where can I look for a husband? They answer: “Call the help desk.”
They took away my laptop, netbook, phones, documents for the apartment, and car keys. The car was immediately removed from the parking lot. I was given a protocol with the seized items to sign. I said that I would not sign anything, because this is complete nonsense - what is happening here. And they left without my signature. As it turned out, the car was signed only a few days later as evidence of all these issues. But the car itself was taken away before this protocol was drawn up.
My father and I searched for Vitya for several days. The SBU told us that they don’t know where he is, that this is confidential information, they cannot tell us.
-Where was he?
“In fact, it turned out that he was in the basements of the SBU, where he was tortured. They extorted confessions from the guys that they committed the terrorist attack on February 22, 2015. Then only we were able to prove that after the beatings they ended up in the emergency room. This is already eight to ten months later. after changing lawyer
— Why did you have to change your lawyer?
- There's a story there. The free lawyer who was provided to us, Alexander Shadrin, was not allowed to see us at all. And out of nowhere, lawyer Ustimenko appeared. At night he called me to come over. He said that he was simply in the SBU, and in the corridor where my husband was supposedly smoking, they met by chance (although as it turned out later, the guys, not only could not smoke, they could not even stand there - they were being worked at that time) . And Vitya allegedly asked Ustimenko to defend his rights. In fact, it turned out to be just a front man from the SBU, who for eight months was extorting money from me for each visit to court. At that time I lived in the suburbs, he came and took money from me. Either 800, then 1000, then 1500 hryvnia. Over the course of eight months, two thousand dollars went to this lawyer, who in fact did nothing at all. We asked him to get certificates from the ambulance about the beatings.
— When did the beatings take place?
“I saw Vitya in the first days after his arrest: only his palms and face were clean. The body was all black and red, covered in bruises. The guys walked away from the hospital for a long time. A few days later they were returned to the SBU, they were really in a comatose state. They barely met the preventive measures. I asked the lawyer a question. He says: “Oh, the shoelaces are just not tied.” I told such fables... Now I am simply amazed at the resourcefulness of a person. He lied constantly. Another lawyer from his own office defended Bashlykov.
— How did you understand that the lawyer was a fake?
— Ustimenko took me to the SBU three times for a thousand hryvnia. At that time, I did not understand what kind of lawyer he was, I naively believed that he would help us. He told me: “You must find money: 10 thousand dollars for the prosecutor’s office and five thousand dollars each for the panel of judges. You must persuade your husband to sign a confession.” Because in the first trial, as they were being stopped, the guys renounced their initial testimony, which had been extracted from them. And these lawyers, from the same office, psychologically worked with me and Sergei Bashlykov’s sister so that we could persuade the guys to sign everything. And then, they say, the lawyers will bribe the prosecutor’s office, they will meet them halfway and be given a shorter sentence, that is, not life, but 15 years or less.
The man simply did not engage in any protection. He told me that he allegedly went to Vita and talked with him, conveyed greetings from him to me. And then, when I went to court and managed to exchange a few words there, Vitya had no idea that the lawyer had come to see him!
I decided to change it. It was clear that he was a fake. And then hints began from Ustimenko: “You understand that this is not profitable for you. They are crazy people there, nationalists, your lives will be threatened.” As I understand it, this was not the first time he worked with the SBU. We started looking for options and contacted lawyer Dmitry Anatolyevich Tikhonenkov.
— What changed after that?
— Lawyer Tikhonenkov demanded a certificate from the emergency room, which stated that the guys were there with lacerations, bruises, and beatings. This medical report was submitted to the court and filed with the case. They brought him to the military prosecutor's office, Vitya was recognized as a victim in this situation. But no one is ever involved. All SBU officers were wearing masks, and no one could figure out which of them was doing what. So this matter is in limbo to this day.
— In general, what can you say about the process?
— The trials have been dragging on for four and a half years. All our requests are rejected. While I went to the trials, I was at least aware of what was happening. But more than a year ago I left.
There is no verdict or evidence in the trial. We have a lot of evidence of the guys’ innocence in the case. But all this is rejected. The judges turn a blind eye to everything. That side accuses us that we are delaying the matter.
— You mentioned the car that was taken from you. What was wrong with her?
— The car is a special topic altogether. They tried to prove from some kind of video that one of the suspects’ cars was supposedly near the Marshal Zhukov metro station, not far from the explosion site. We watched the video for a long time. Just a dark car in the dark. Several times Vitya filed a petition regarding the examination. He demanded that experts review this video. The refusals were interpreted by the fact that he either incorrectly named the expert service, or something else formal... Finally, they agreed to deliver this expert to us. And he clearly and clearly concluded that not a single car fits this description - neither Vitin, nor Vovin. And in one of their protocols it says that this is Vitina’s car, a black Opel. And in another about the same fact, Vovin’s car is mentioned. And supposedly someone is taking something out of the back door of this car. But Dvornikov’s car has no rear doors!
There are inconsistencies in the protocols even on such points. And many such errors and inconsistencies popped up over four and a half years, indicating that everything was falsified.
— The suspects were detained on February 26. And who was then detained on the day of the terrorist attack, which was loudly announced then?
- Yes, they showed that they allegedly detained someone on the same day. Those detainees did not appear at all later.
Our guys were blamed. This is why these little bags were thrown. Such as the Camel little bag that we saw on our daughter’s table. I worked in the retail industry for many years. I know very well what kind of bags these are. They are the newest. And exactly these little bags appeared in everyone’s possessions. Not only among our guys, but also among others - in sabotage groups, in separatism. And the description of the contents is exactly the same. That is, they didn’t even worry about it. To be sure. So that there is evidence why they were detained.
Not to mention the fact that Vitya was first taken away, and then only the house was searched.
— Did your husband work at Berkut?
- Yes, he was an employee of Berkut. Then he worked in the police. At the time of all these events, he resigned from the authorities. But from the videos it was known that on the Maidan in February 2014 he was detained and beaten by nationalists. The prosecution attracted this video: well, it was seen there... This was in February, when the Kharkov “oplotovtsy” went to the aid of the “golden eagle”. It seems to me that this video later influenced the choice of those to blame. It was possible to use it to get through the data of these anti-Maidanovites. I found out that Vitya went there when he was brought in with a gunshot wound to his knee. And then I saw a video of how they beat him, took out his passport from his bosom, showed him to the camera...
— What was the atmosphere like on the ships? Why did you have to leave?
— At first there were more relatives, from Bashlykov’s side, from Vitina’s side. But it so happened that recently I was mostly the only one traveling.
Since all this detention happened before my eyes and in front of the child, I did not believe that the guys did it. It seems to me that this is a re-enactment by the SBU. It was beneficial for someone to do this. Stars quickly fell on the shoulder straps afterwards. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this is why such a setup was made. That's why I went to court as much as I could. About thirty activists gathered there. Sometimes they were young men in uniforms with patches, “Right Sector” and others. And the grandmothers, with their voices always trembling, shouted something. I came alone, stood under the wall. There are about thirty activists there. They could say something in my direction so that I could hear. But I pretended not to pay attention to anything. Then she entered the courtroom.
The SBU officer approached me more than once; he always went with prosecutor Lymar. He asked questions: “Who are you? Whose relative are you?” I said that I would not answer any questions. Then he came up again: “Are you Dvornikov’s sister?” For a long time they could not figure out who it was; she was driving alone all the time. And then everything became clear (I don’t know who helped). They posted information on social networks, photos of me with my child: that I go to the courts in Kharkov and support separatists and terrorists. They started writing nasty things. I read it - my hair started to stand up: kill, nail, separatist scum, etc.
Last year they started openly putting pressure on the guys to sign a confession. As I understand it, one of the options for pressure was to threaten families directly. At first there were just these terrible comments. Then they started coming to my work, poking at strange marks, introducing themselves as SBU officers. Although I’m not sure that these are SBU officers (they asked me everything they needed at the beginning, after the arrest, when we were officially summoned to the SBU for questioning). I told them that I would only talk to them in the presence of lawyers.
They found out and posted on the Internet where I live, where I work, and my work schedule. I was working as a fitness trainer then. Last August I took a vacation to relieve stress. Because my bosses didn’t need all this either. But on the day when I was given my salary, I arrived at the club, and these comrades came out to meet me again. Once again I told them that I would not talk to them. They stayed near the club for a very long time. I called the lawyer. I waited until they left. And on the same day I wrote a letter of resignation. Because I understood that this was the last straw, and they would not leave me alone. And as soon as I returned home, my boss called me: “Tell us what to do. About forty people arrived in jeeps, surrounded the club, demanding your dismissal. They say that you are the wife of a terrorist, and we are supporters of the separatists, we support them. We explain to them that you are fired, but they don’t believe it.” As a result, security was called. It seems like everything has been sorted out. And activists posted triumphant reports on social networks: we achieved the dismissal of the terrorist’s wife. For me this was another blow. I understood that I would not be allowed to work or live in peace. I was really worried about the life of my child. Because all this is scary for a teenage girl, and they don’t know what will come to their mind. There are a lot of inadequate people among them. I saw and heard them in courts. The threats they made openly are scary. They really said they wouldn't leave us alone. Therefore, I decided to leave the country.
— What organizations were the activists from?
- From different. The most rabid there was Pozdnyakov, from Svitanka. He terrorized us the most. Now they are against our guys being exchanged.
My opinion is this. Even at that time, too many people received undeserved awards for "solving" this case. And they are interested in the guys not getting traded. I listened to the other side, tried to understand. For four and a half years they have not linked a single piece of evidence to the case. Whatever the result, we will definitely fight to the end. All these threats will have absolutely no effect on anything. We will go through all stages, cassation if necessary. Up to the ECHR.
— Did you watch the Kyiv press conference of opponents of the exchange?
— There a man calls himself a friend of the family of the deceased teenager. It always bothers me when people publicize themselves on someone else’s grief. Throughout all these years we have heard the same interpretation: “terrorists.” Everyone has their own truth. They accuse, we prove the opposite. But if I were adequate people, I would not throw such accusations at least until the verdict. A singer, a journalist, a deputy sit there and have no doubt at all about the prosecution’s version?
— One of them says that the accused traveled through Belgorod to Rostov and underwent training there...
- Again, where does this information come from?! The fact that the guys crossed the border, yes, is true. Vova’s family lived in Belgorod at that time. And naturally he crossed the border because he was visiting his family. What are we even talking about?! Vitya has a previous family and a child from his first marriage in Russia. He also went to see him. Where does this information about some testing grounds come from, what kind of fiction is this? I can definitely say for what reason Vova and Vitya had these intersections. But people tell all this “knowingly” at the suggestion of specific Ukrainian organizations, which benefit from presenting information this way. Describe everything in such a way that the people who are trying to attract to these rallies will believe in this fairy tale. They need to pour into their ears what they will sacredly believe in: they traveled, trained, trained saboteurs from them. They do not consider other options at all that might bring them closer to the solution: who is to blame for the death of their loved ones.
See also: Kharkiv. Shame on Zelensky.
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