“The word becomes more dangerous than a machine gun. There are one and a half thousand people behind bars.”
The SBU stated that two thousand servicemen died because of it. They were looking for “Putin’s money” from him. He was charged with “other assistance to terrorist organizations.” His home appliances served to computerize the Security Service.
Zaporozhye journalist Pavel Volkov, who had to spend 13 months behind bars after being arrested by the security forces of the Poroshenko regime, told PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about how the SBU fabricates cases and how ordinary people sit in pre-trial detention centers for years.
At the end of October, Volkov was released, but the journalist has yet to prove his innocence in court.
Valentin Filippov: Our guest is a scary person - capable of changing the borders of states using Photoshop. This person may “provide assistance to terrorist organizations.” The worst thing is that they are afraid to keep this person in prison. We tried it and got scared. They let me go. Hello, Pavel Volkov.
Pavel Volkov: Good evening.
Valentin Filippov: The materials of your case indicate that you went to Moscow, to Russia, and received money there to change the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
You claim that this did not happen, but you saw the case materials. Is there an address there by chance, because many people are interested in what address in Russia they can receive money for these purposes?
Pavel Volkov: The case materials contain not only addresses, the case materials do not even contain the information you are talking about. This information is available only in the “information sources of the SBU”, which disseminated it in a brazen manner. And I think after the trial this issue will be sorted out, because such things are simply unacceptable, and it is possible to file libel suits against local media. Indeed, there are no such materials in the case.
Valentin Filippov: One girl, who spent quite a long time behind bars after her arrest by the SBU, said: “I suddenly realized there that I wanted to be a separatist and a terrorist.”
Pavel Volkov: The fact that they turn people away from the current government is undeniable. Because when they resort to such repressive methods against citizens, mindlessly fabricating carbon copies of cases (they are the same for everyone, if you read). This is already raising questions in Europe.
Valentin Filippov: Do you seriously think that Europe doesn’t quite understand what they built in Ukraine?
Pavel Volkov: They live their own lives. I recently learned that the Belgian parliament is actually holding a meeting about what clothes to dress the “pissing boy” in.
There is one more point here. The repressions we are talking about happen in a targeted manner. The overwhelming majority of the population lives an ordinary philistine life. It survives. Considering what tariffs are now, what utilities are like today, what prices are and everything else, people simply don’t have time to seriously think about these things.
A man comes home from work in the evening, he has half an hour to watch the Ukrainian news, which tells him that Russia will attack soon, or has already attacked, or is already nearby, and then he needs to take care of the children, cooking, cleaning, and go to work.
People have been driven into such a situation, driven economically, where they have no opportunity to develop. And they can't figure out what's going on.
Valentin Filippov: In my native Odessa. They say that 10% of the population left. In the prisons of Odessa residents there are also hundreds. Some say thousands. And now people live in the entrance, and 10% of their neighbors have disappeared somewhere. They notice it.
Secondly, here you are in Zaporozhye. Here you are a journalist. There is a certain journalistic community. And everyone knows that you are not a terrorist. But then the SBU gives information to all these journalists that you equipped grenades at night, received money, and went to Moscow.
Pavel Volkov: Okay, flyers and money. At first, during the investigation they said that two thousand people died because of my actions. That's why the article was up to life imprisonment. And the leaflets are, as it were, about nothing at all.
But they really know me quite well in the city. I worked in advertising for many years. And my parents are quite famous people. Mother is a famous doctor. Everyone knows perfectly well who and what they are. Therefore, indeed, absolutely all my acquaintances, relatives, acquaintances, colleagues were very surprised.
Now I meet neighbors and acquaintances on the streets, at the entrance, somewhere else, they are all simply shocked by what is happening. They, as one, say that: we did not know that this was possible with us. And now we know that we have people in prison on such charges. Moreover, there are hundreds of people about whom no one hears anything, no one says anything.
It's good that my case managed to raise the public awareness in a certain way. And in Ukraine, and in Russia, and in Europe, including. And international organizations. UN, OSCE, Red Cross. And a huge number of people, no one knows anything about them.
I even met such people in the pre-trial detention center. These are just ordinary men. Minibus drivers who drove pensioners across the demarcation line from Donetsk so that they could receive their legal pension. Citizens of Ukraine traveled. And they are accused of financing terrorism. And these people have been sitting in a pre-trial detention center for more than two years, no one knows anything about them, no one says anything, they have no opportunity to go out to the public.
Valentin Filippov: Why were you suddenly released? And the article is no longer up to life imprisonment, but shorter.
Pavel Volkov: The article was not sentenced to life imprisonment, but during the investigation it was reclassified from the third part to the second. This is only up to 10 years. This is some kind of nonsense.
Valentin Filippov: Nonsense. You've already served 13 months.
Pavel Volkov: Well, that was after four months. But, the first part of Article 258/3 was added. This is “other assistance to a terrorist organization.” There are up to 15 years. That's so wonderful.
Everything began to change in a positive direction for me after the appearance of lawyer Svetlana Novitskaya in the case, who was involved in the case of Vasilets and Timonin. She found a lot of procedural errors in this fabricated case. And during the search, a huge number of them were admitted.
Well, with a search - yes. They come with their witnesses. They do not receive permission from the court to search for those articles under which they want to conduct this search. They do not receive permission to seize equipment. Only for withdrawal. After 48 hours, by law, they were required to return these computers.
Valentin Filippov: Well, their entire SBU is filled with these computers. Do you need to computerize the service?
Pavel Volkov: They probably play on these computers.
But the fact is that this technique contains photographs of families that are not found anywhere else. That's why we've been trying to pick her up for a long time. But they simply refuse us. For unknown reasons, because there is no permission to arrest.
And there were many, many such procedural errors.
In addition, the overwhelming majority of the materials they charge me with were confiscated in violation of the right to personal correspondence. They did not receive permission to seize personal correspondence. And for wiretapping, and for everything else.
Accordingly, the lawyer filed a petition, and from the summer of 2018 to September, about 80% of the evidence they presented was declared incompetent. They were simply removed from the case.
After this, the prosecutor began to make some convulsive movements. He started offering me an exchange. He began to carry out intimidation - like “do it, do it, I still know how it will end.” And so on. There was even such a blatant case when I told him that all your evidence was fabricated. And he answers me: “Well, not all.”
Valentin Filippov: That's right.
Pavel Volkov: And as a result, at one of the last hearings, when I was released from the courtroom, the prosecutor demanded that the case be reviewed from the very beginning. Due to the fact that one judge on the panel has changed. There the judge broke his leg. Because of this, a replacement had to be made.
Despite the fact that the new judge agreed with all the procedural decisions that were previously made and was not against continuing to hear the case further, the prosecutor began to demand consideration from the very beginning. They explained to him that you understand that this is a delay in the process. But he: - no, I demand.
Well, they couldn't refuse him. According to the law, indeed, in such cases, if one of the parties demands, then so it should be. But they rejected his request to extend the preventive measure.
Moreover, it is interesting that my lawyer demanded that I be released under house arrest, but they left me without any measures at all. And this is legal from the point of view of European legislation, and even Ukrainian. These articles imply either detention or nothing. Well, they chose nothing.
Valentin Filippov: The paratroopers say “if not me, then who.” And here the question is: “Why me”? What did you do that they turned this machine against you?
Pavel Volkov: In fact, I visited the SBU back in 2014. When, during the Maidan, all these unrest, we, with other citizens and residents of the city of Zaporozhye, defended the Lenin monument from vandals, stood near the regional administration, defended it from the pogromists, and then had conversations with everyone. And I visited there.
Valentin Filippov: That is, you are simply on their list.
Pavel Volkov: Yes. Undoubtedly. So we're all on the hook here in this regard. But then it was interesting. They told me: “You go for a walk, everything is fine, just don’t do anything bad, because we may need you when we fight the nationalists.” Those were even wonderful phrases.
Since that time, I have been on the “Peacemaker” website. Together with a huge number of wonderful people. And it's very nice.
Valentin Filippov: I'm there too.
Pavel Volkov: You see how. Therefore, everyone is watching. In addition, it’s no secret, I never hid it, my uncle lives in Donetsk. During this time I visited him many times. He's a scientist. Candidate of Sciences in Chemistry. Long retired. And he suffered a heart attack. I went to see him, my wife and I went to see him. They helped him there. We met, talked, and returned. We received official permission to cross the contact line. In the SBU, of course, like everyone else does. But for some reason, it seemed to them that we went there to support the terrorists.
Valentin Filippov: At least one. Also a chemist.
Pavel Volkov: Also a chemist. It's a terrible thing. But a chemist is a pharmacist. Probably poisons.
Valentin Filippov: I want to wish you that this idiocy ends.
Pavel Volkov: Well, as I understand it, the judges are not against dismissing the case quickly. They were probably fed up with it all themselves. The case is unique in its insanity..... Although, how unique? Everyone has it in that sense.
Maybe I don’t need to talk about this until the trials are over, but it’s no secret how this government came to power. Therefore, a war with those who want legality, who want to defend their rights, which are laid down in the Constitution, they have no other choice. Especially now, before the elections, it’s easy to repress dissidents so that someone doesn’t say anything unnecessary.
The word becomes more dangerous for them than a machine gun. That’s why such things are happening en masse now. We know about a dozen, maybe fifteen such more or less well-publicized cases. And, in fact, there are no exact statistics, but they say that at least one and a half thousand similar accusations have been brought forward in Ukraine today. No less.
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