A few days have passed since the decision was made by the Pechersk District Court of Kiev city on taking into custody an Alchevsk journalist, volunteer of “Aydar” Yuriy Gukov, widely known as Aseev. Informator.lg.ua tried to understand real motives of criminal persecution of “aydarovets” (member of the “Aydar” battalion).

Melnichuk and “65 crimes”

Yuriy Gukov – member of volunteer battalion “Aydar”, where he has been fighting since its creation. Yuriy was a journalist and human rights activist and had disagreements with former head of the “Aydar” – Sergey Melnichuk. Because of those disagreements Gukov had even spent a week in a basement.

After detention Gukov stayed in the ATO zone, continued his journalistic work, participated in organization of exchange of captives.

On June 8 the Head of the Luhansk Military-Civil Administration Gennadiy Moskal submitted to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the MIA so-called “list of Aydar’s crimes”, which included Yuriy Gukov.

Adjusted mechanism

Gukov’s attorney Sergey Medvedev is sure that persecution of his client has political background.

He described for Obozrevatel an episode, which became the base for criminal proceeding.

“Supposedly, Yuriy and his three fellow servicemen with a goal to commit a crime took possession of someone’s property. He came to someone’s flat, tried to apprehend that person and took away his communication facilities (laptop, phone). It was a time, when the war hasn’t been declared yet. Fighters came to apprehend a person, who was suspected in anti-Ukrainian actions, and check his guilt. They were in the ATO zone and were armed. They entered the flat, didn’t demand a thing. They asked the victim to take on clothes and go with them.

He took on his clothes and than his wife started a noise and the man used the moment to resist. They decided not to provoke a conflict. It is not clear how they got his staff and who did it. It is possible that they took those thinks to find evidence of separatism”.

Those events took place on June 2014, when Gukov – a volunteer of the Aydar – implemented an order of the Commander Melnichuk on apprehension of Sobol — activist of “Russian spring”.

We would remind that in spring, 2014, a group of servicemen, including Gukov, implemented a raid (by order of commander of the battalion Melnichuk) around northern and central areas of Luhansk region, which resulted in apprehension of active proponents of separatism.

Gukov’s attorney said that GPO and MIA consider attempt to apprehend the “separatist” as attack.

Attorney also underlines that law enforcement officers violated provisions of the CPC and didn’t provide the defense side with explicit materials of the criminal proceeding. For example, materials given to Medvedev and Gukov didn’t contain personal characteristics of the victim.

Investigation bodies ignored the fact that the event took place in the ATO zone and Yuriy was implementing an order of his commander.

Colleagues of Yuriy Gukov suppose that the reason for arrest was his critics against the Head of the Luhansk MCA Gennadiy Moskal and the head of the Regional MIA Office Anatoliy Naumenko.

The circumstance that Yuriy Gukov, who supposedly was wanted by the police, during a year has been serving in the battalion, helping to exchange captives, visiting Kiev and Kharkiv – proves that there is a problem of coordination and distribution of authority in the ATO zone. Needed materials were found right after the journalist and volunteer actively started to criticize authorities in public.

Dangerous tendency

Story of Yuriy Gukov reminds a story, which took place in autumn, 2014, with another “Aydar” fighter – journalist from Luhansk Valeriy Gavrilov. That time he and his colleagues apprehended and delivered to Kiev a “Minister of Health Care of the LPR” Pevel Malysh. In the capital separatist was liberated and fighters were apprehended and accused of kidnapping.

Valeriy Gavrilov

A story about criminal proceeding against Gavrilov and Revutskiy – one of the first “loud” criminal cases against Ukrainian volunteers. Valeriy Gavrilov told journalists that it could be beginning of a large-scale campaign to discredit volunteers movement.

Purges and legal nihilism as a method of administration

Since that moment many things have changed: battalions became a part of the AFU and National Guard; there were many conflicts between volunteers and regional authorities or law enforcement bodies; other volunteers were used for demonstrative trials – as it happened with “Ravliki” group and its members Bogdan Chaban and Aleksandr Kryukov.

Commander of “Ravliki” Bogdan Chaban

It makes us think that authorities of Luhansk and Donetsk Military-Civil Administrations don’t like socially active patriots of Ukrainian Donbass, who are aware of local realities. That is why authorities develop proper mechanisms to remove them.

Of course we cannot say that all accused fighters were innocent, but we cannot rule out a dangerous tendency.

Today Ukrainian society has to pass another exam: will we let officials, who lied through their teeth, to do unlawful actions and arbitrary rule in exchange to responsibility for decision making and control over the situation? Will we let things drift, hoping for wisdom, justice and unselfishness of Gennadiy Moskal, Anatoliy Naumenko and others? I wouldn’t reckon on this.

Aleksey Chernov for the Informator.lg.ua