Luhansk journalist and public activist Maria Varfolomeeva has been being in captivity of insurgents of “LPR” for five months. She’s blaming in “correction of fire of AFU” and also with cooperation with “Right sector”. The punishment up to 15 years in prison threatens to “accomplice of junta”. Masha is really not a first journalist, got in captivity to “militants”. Informator.lg.ua remembered the history of two another “spies”, who year ago turned up “on a cellar” for the cooperation with Ukrainian media.
Business cards of Yarosh and righteous anger of “sofa warriors”
Masha, the active participant of actions of Luhansk Euromaidan and next pro_ukrainian meetings in spring 2014, was forced to stay in Luhansk after the grab of power by “militants”, because of necessity to take care of 73 year grandma.
She was detained on January 9, when she tried to make photo of the community of mercenaries for one of Kharkiv media.
At that time Maria cooperated with series of central Ukrainian media, lighting the situation in the occupied city.
“Thank to Maria social plots from occupied regional centre appeared on one of the central TV-channels and in a number of Ukrainian electronic editions. It’s a pity that cooperated with Masha journalists of this media prefered further safe work in Luhansk to help of illegal deprived of freedom Maria” — tells human rights advocate, coordinator of fund “Vostok-SOS” Constantin Reutsky.
The grounds for Masha’s detention become the photos made by her and also photos from Masha’s page in social networks, where she’s posing with symbolics of “Right sector”.
This number of evidence was enough to blame the girl in correction of shelling the Luhansk on January 27, which led to the death of 26 of inhabitants of the city. Representatives of so-called “prosecutor of “LPR” claim that her guilt was absolutely proved and punishable by up to 15 years in prison threatens to Maria. Such circumstance that shell was through the few weeks after detention of Maria didn’t confused the insurgents, as the another one that shells of MLRS flew from back side of mercenaries.
“Earlier, insurgents advanced requirements to change Varfolomeeva on a man, convicted on criminal charges a few years ago. which is not connected with a conflict in Eastern Ukraine. But, conditions change all the time and negotiations about releasing of Mria Varfolomeeva constantly come to a standstill” — concludes Constantin Reutsky.
The first “official” statement of mercenaries of “LPR” appeared on January 31, when the head of “MIA” of “LPR” Ihor Kornet told in a plot of “State TV and radio company of “LPR” about detention of gun-layer: “This citizen engaged the subversive activities on the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic. She made the photos of the military objects of people’s militia of LPR, the objects of MIA and also vital objects. There was found that citizen maintains friendly relations with soldiers of batallion “Aydar”, also she is active member of terrorist organization “Right sector”…”
Afterwards “officials” of “LPR” made a few applications about Maria. Particularly, collaborator of “General prosecutor of “LPR” mention her not so long ago: “I was touched, in quotes, the recognition, cry of underhuman, this Maria, who huddled in a jail — “Help me please, Ukraine”.
It’s not a wonder that “righteous anger” of sofa-fighters with “fascism” also didn’t wait for itself. Here is a number of very “soft” and “polite” commentaries to video, where Maria asks Kyiv to change her on a captured “militant”.
Metin Türk: “I’m assuring you, She’s cunning. Such people don’t correct. They have wild and unhealthy hate to Orthodoxy. Did overcome Soviet captivity banderamen correct?”
Halina Vokova: “She is a criminal and must have hall her term in jail. What a change of criminal could be at all???”
SIBERIAN HUNTER: “Once again this spawn surfaced. I’m not guilty in anything, I didn’t earn to sit in jail. How people have a patience to listen to such a trash”.
It’s a little bit known about the conditions of Maria’s detention. Except a number of interview to Russian propaganda media, girl didn’t get in touch with the world around. But, judging by this video stories, she’s under a moral pressure as minimum as it can be.
However, a lot of people from Luhansk media staff know how insurgents treat with the captured journalists — supposed “spies”. They know about it from the firsthand…
“We were treated well…”
During protracted “Russian spring” there was a big number of Luhansk journalists, who was in “basements” of “militants” — Vladimir Startsev, SSergei Sakadynsky, Alexander Belokobylsky, Vyacheslav Bondarenko, Maxim Osovsky and others. Practically in all cases they were detained in on suspicion for espionage in favor of the Ukrainian side.
Journalists Vyacheslav Bondarenko and Maxim Ososvsky were one of the first, who got into captivity to terrorists of “LPR”. Insurgents captured them on a block-post near Schastie in a Day of President’s elections a year ago on May 25. The voting was only in districts, controlled by Ukrainian authority.
“Lviv TV-channel “ZIK” offered me a job to run stream-reports about situation with elections in Luhansk region… I thought that it would be more safeful with companion and invited my colleague Maxim Osovsky. All documents, press-cards, letter from a channel, passports — everything was with us” — tells Vyacheslav.
The insurgents of “LPR” stopped the car on a block-post near Schastie when journalists went back at home in the evening.
As a result of search of journalists separatists found stream-complects, with help of which they made a broadcasting from polls. Mercenaries drew the conclusion that it’s a spies before them and they are collecting the information for Ukrainian Secret Services.
“Without any proceedings I was hit by butt in the nape. I fainted. Me and Max were loaded in the car and they carried us “on a cellar” — tells Vyacheslav.
Later Maxim Osovsky told in the interview that he was treated polite, but after they watched his pages in a social media and found there a lot of pro-Ukrainian phrases, fighters began to beat and torture.
Vyacheslav Bondarenko doesn’t normally remember his staying in a basement of Luhansk SSU — as a result of hit in his head he lost memory. But Maxim Osovsky later remembered that they were continuously betaed during 6 hours.
“I don’t clearly remember interrogations… But trails, which stayed on my body, eloquently
enough can tell about our “conversations”. I had a broken rib, punctured heels, there were traces of the pliers on my stomach, put out a cigarette in hand, the whole back was blue… But they didn’t beat at the face. They need us to look normal, because “they treat us well and even we were feeded three times” — says ironically Vyacheslav.
While journalists were torturing, beating the necessary recognitions, “the prime minister of “LPR” Vasily Nikitin told to their colleagues on a press-conference, that nothing threatened to life and health of Bondarenko and Osovsky.
“There is nothing to worry about, there won’t be anytning terrible with them — claimed Nikitin — We are not beast, not fascists… Nobody will touch them at all, They are feeded trice a day and they fell perfectly”.
Also, “prime minister” sured that detained guys weren’t a journalists at all.
(Beginning from 2:00)
When we began to look at their equipment, memory cards, we found out there pictures of block-posts from different foreshortenings and also notations about changing of the guards and schemes of defending of block-posts” — said Nikitin.
He noted that such information if they were journalists wouldn’t need for them. According to Nikitin’s words journalists confessed that collect this information for Ukrainian authorities.
“The accusations, which were presented to us, were really fun… But maybe there was a reason for our detention — considers Vyacheslav Bondarenko — Not far from block-post of separatists we found shoot car. Judging by an amount of blood on a seats, the driver was killed… We immediately told about this on-air on our stream-channel…Maybe, insurgents were informed, that to their block-post were moving the journalists, who shot the things that don’t needed to be show…”
Osovsky and Bondarenko were held in a cellar a little more two days. They both needed emergency medical services after the release.
“The food was carried into a chamber once a day. It was leavings in a big pan. They didn’t give water at all… They didn’t let go into a toilet, there was a bucket in the corner… We were warned at once, that it’s better for us to keep silence about how we were treated.
Before they released us, I had some sort of injection… It strongly “cheered” me. My friends, who took me away from there, told that I was able to go on by my own, looked very freshly and all the time repeated that they treated me well” — remembers Vyacheslav.
foto
Vyacheslav Bondarenko after two days of “a good treatment”
Human rights is the empty sound for “militants”
For today there is a lot of civils in the captivity of terrorists of “LPR”, who blamed for no one’s bare word in an intelligent and saboteur activity. It’s known how insurgents treat captured “spies”.
“Mercenaries very often detain civils to ascertain the circumstances on suspicion of espionage or subversive activities — tells volunteer of “Vostok-Sos”, working with hostages Tatiana Dontsova. For today we have moreover 400 people in our base. Also we can courageously say that there is more than a dozen people, carrying label “spy”, who are in the captivity of terrorists.
One of the reasons about adoption for Verkhovna Rada the application about withdrawal from certain obligations, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to the complete cessation of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, is the failure of Ukrainian authority to defend rights of citizens on occupied territories.
Legal nihilism militants would be even more unbridled, if international organizations abandoned attempts to influent on insurgents. According to words of Tatiana Dontsova, sometimes, but not often, they can contribute with releasing of captives.
Obviously, that problem of “prisoners” who illegally held by separatists don’t be solved in a closer time. Insurgents need a demonstration victims, on which they can “hang” empty charges. The presentation of “militants” about justice, human rights, the presumption of innocence is strongly different from worldwide. A lot of them even doesn’t know about it.
Hopefully, that principle of inevitability of punishment sooner or later will be implemented against those, who today consider themselves «legitimate authority» and administers «justice» in its sole discretion. And Maria and dozen of iinnoccent in nothing people will be free.
Aleksei Chernov for informator.lg.ua.