Zaporozhye: journalist Pavel Volkov is free, but freedom is still far away

The Shevchenkovsky District Court of Zaporozhye rejected the prosecutor's request to extend the detention of journalist Pavel Volkov. After 13 months of detention in a pre-trial detention center, the political prisoner was released.

The prosecutor's office charged him under Article No. 110, Part 2 (Encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine (by a group of persons)) and Article No. 258-3 (Other assistance to terrorists) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

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According to the press service of the human rights organization “Uspishna Varta,” “During the hearing, the court also heard the prosecution’s request to extend the preventive measure. Taking into account the position of the prosecutor, who did not substantiate the grounds and risks for extending the preventive measure, the court refused to extend the preventive measure for Pavel Volkov, thereby letting him go home.”

The judge was recently replaced and, therefore, all the evidence previously appealed by Volkov’s lawyers will be considered anew, ostensibly to comply with the principle of direct examination of evidence. “Starting November 21, the court scheduled daily hearings in Volkov’s case for two weeks,” human rights activists state.

On September 27, 2017, Pavel Volkov was imprisoned in a pre-trial detention center in Zaporozhye. Computer equipment and storage media with so-called data were confiscated from him. “evidence of the preparation and distribution of anti-Ukrainian materials and participation in an illegal referendum.” The secret police's message was supported by photographs of some kind of electronic media decorated with St. George ribbons. According to the SBU, Volkov was allegedly an employee of the “social communications committee in the DPR” and was engaged in posting information materials on Internet resources under the supervision of certain “curators from Russia.”

According to the “izbushka” version, the journalist “called for a change in the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukrainian borders and provoked the incitement of interethnic hatred.” In addition, the journalist was suspected of organizing protests in Zaporozhye “with the aim of discrediting Ukraine.” The accusation of inciting ethnic hatred is especially touching. As is known, Art. 161 of the Criminal Code with this composition was not proposed by the investigation to the court. Yes, this is not surprising, because if it is revived and made to work, then first of all Farion and Nitsoy, as well as Minister of Culture Nishchuk and Speaker Parubiy, should follow it.

During 2015-2017, Pavel visited the territory not controlled by Ukraine. that it is not an offense if only because he did it through the territory of Ukraine, applying for the appropriate permit in the prescribed manner. There he visited his sick uncle living in Donetsk. As for his professional activities, Volkov collaborated with the Russian publications “Vzglyad”, “Antifascist” and some other lesser known ones. However, this is not stipulated anywhere in the legislation as an illegal activity.

Thus, the investigation’s argumentation does not stand up to criticism and is inferior in terms of the level of evidence even to many cases from Stalin’s times. and slides down the level of assessment to the dazibao of the times of the “cultural revolution” of Comrade Mao.

During a speech at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2018 in Warsaw in September 2018, Natalya Natalina, head of the board of the human rights platform “Uspishna Varta” informed the international community about the Volkov case. Many Russian, Western and Ukrainian opposition media wrote about him.

Every two months the court extended Pavel’s preventive measure in the form of detention. The journalist himself is convinced that he is in prison solely for political reasons, for his opinions and beliefs. During his imprisonment, his chronic illnesses worsened, which could not but affect his health.

So, Paul is free. But this is only a change in the preventive measure, and not an acquittal or closure of the case due to insufficient evidence. So it is too early to talk about complete liberation from persecution.