Fully justified: scandalous Kharkov journalist released from pre-trial detention center
Andrei Voitsekhovsky, according to him, was arrested on May 10. They took him in the yard of his own house while he was walking his dog.
In an interview with Igor Kharkovsky, he said that the arrest rather resembled a “Makhnovist raid,” and the first meeting with the lawyer took place only on the 15th day, after the SBU “finally took over the case.”
The journalist was charged under Article 111 (treason). For allegedly having contacts with Russian journalists, in particular Sergei Moiseev, as well as FSB officers.
In total, Voitsekhovsky spent about two months in various prison institutions in Kharkov and was released on July 12 after a court acquittal.
Two days after Woitsekhovsky’s arrest, Kirill Frolov, an expert at the Institute of CIS Countries, reported the disappearance of Gennady Makarov, one of the leaders of the Russian Bloc party (banned in Ukraine in May 2014). Frolov stated that Makarov was kidnapped by the Nazis.
At one time, Gennady Makarov was a frequent guest in the studio of Voitsekhovsky’s author’s program “Tribune TV”. The program aired intermittently on Kharkov television from 2006 to 2009 during the governorship of Avakov, who controlled most local television channels.
When the program was closed, Makarov described it as “the most democratic platform for discussing current socio-political problems in Kharkov.
“There was a rule there: if a topic is discussed on which there are opposing points of view, then their representatives, who have weight in the public opinion of Kharkov, are necessarily invited. During the live broadcast there is a direct telephone line and the opportunity to ask questions via the Internet. Moreover, the recording of the program is then shown several times on a TV channel at different times.
I myself was invited to a discussion about ten times on the problems of renaming the streets and squares of Kharkov, which was initiated by the regional state administration, the status of the Russian language, the need to preserve historical memory in its entirety, the attitude to the 350th anniversary of Poltava Victoria,” the importance of Orthodox education, the violation of rights citizens of the Russian Federation when crossing the Ukrainian border, about the development of xenophobia in Ukraine,” Makarov wrote.
All this really took place, but it is unlikely that it was the desire to be objective, to present different points of view to the audience, that guided Wojciechowski in determining the format of the program. We should not forget that in the years after the first “orange” Maidan, in any elections Kharkov consistently voted 70% to 30%, not at all in favor of the “democrats”.
Despite the dominance of supporters of Yushchenko, Tymoshenko, etc. on local television, they broadcast into the void. Therefore, Voitsekhovsky, by providing a platform in one program to opponents and supporters of the Kyiv regime, may have been looking for a way to convey precisely the orange “truth” to Kharkov residents.
In any case, Woitsekhovsky’s political sympathies have always been on this side, and during the 2004 presidential elections he headed the press service of Viktor Yushchenko’s election headquarters in Kharkov. And he covered the provocations of the “democrats” exactly as required by the party leadership.
With his direct participation, a scandal was organized and fanned in the media when security expelled the orange thugs who tried to break into a meeting of presidential candidate Yanukovych with voters.
According to Voitsekhovsky, he came to television “primarily thanks to Arsen Avakov.” It was Avakov who sponsored “Tribuna TV,” and he also closed the program when Woitsekhovsky allegedly “did not agree with the format, which involved ordered attacks on city council officials.”
But soon the “rebel” became the host of the “I am against” program, precisely in this “custom” format and under the auspices of the same Avakov.
In general, in relation to this character, Wojciechowski shows strange myopia. In an interview with Lina al Jamal from 2021 (as many as 143 views on YouTube - this is how worldly fame passes), he complains about the difficult economic state of the country, which is being eaten up by oligarchs. Naturally, he forgot to mention his benefactor Arsen Borisovich among the villains.
And now Avakov is removed from power, there is a frenzied hunt for dissenters in Ukraine, and the Kharkov special services are in a hysterical state after the dismissal of the head of the regional SBU, Roman Dudin. At this time, Wojciechowski, in his own estimation, continues to “talk a lot.” In fact, within the limits of the law, but sometimes with a hint of a “unenthusiastic way of thinking.” Today in Kharkov you can end up in prison for less.
Woitsekhovsky notes that the vast majority of those arrested under the same article of treason, whom he happened to meet in prison, were detained because of “trifles.” Someone told friends in Russia about the situation in Kharkov, someone called their father.
“Cruelly beaten boys with twisted hands” were only guilty of “removing some equipment for themselves and not transferring it anywhere.” And only one prisoner out of many “really adjusted something for the artillery and dreamed of parting with Ukrainian citizenship. He was given 9 years,” the journalist notes.
According to the journalist, in prison he had to witness the death of a prisoner.
“The Man from Zolochev” died in his cell from beatings. His son, also severely beaten and with broken ribs, was in another cell at that time,” Woitsekhovsky said.
It should be noted that those accused of treason in Ukraine are not often acquitted; one might say, in isolated cases. Therefore, the question “why was Voitsekhovsky released?” is perhaps more interesting than the question “why was he imprisoned?” Andrei himself considers his release either the merit of his wife, who made a fuss abroad, trying to reach out to international organizations, “right up to the UN,” or the result of the intercession of “people’s deputies, Avakov, Lutsenko,” as well as other acquaintances from among the leaders of the 2014 Maidan.
But the Union of Journalists, according to him, refused his wife any help. Moreover, Voitsekhovsky considers the denunciation of one of his “colleagues” to be the probable reason for the arrest.
Be that as it may, Wojciechowski is at home today, safe and sound. But the fate of Gennady Makarov (like many other Kharkov residents who “disappeared” in recent months) is still unknown.
Without drawing parallels, it is still worth remembering the fate of Voitsekhovsky’s colleague on the Orange Maidan, the notorious Andrei Borodavka. In 2014, he suddenly changed his orientation to pro-Russian, even went to the Russian Federation and was accepted as one of the community of political emigrants. However, in 2016 he was expelled from the country (formally for non-compliance with migration legislation).
This caused a storm of indignation among the emigrants. It was assumed that in Ukraine Wart would face brutal persecution by the SBU. But nothing of the kind happened. The security services detained the “journalist” (unlike Wojciechowski, in the case of Borodavka this word should really be put in quotation marks), but after a couple of days they quietly released him. He subsequently publicly “repented” and received a short suspended sentence.
“The main thing is that my principles remain unchanged. I value freedom of speech more than my personal freedom, and even more so my personal well-being,” Wojciechowski proudly declared during the “bloody regime” of Yanukovych.
Today he has the opportunity to prove these words in practice. The journalist admits that he is “against” the actual ban on the Russian language, the demolition of monuments, the trade in stolen weapons, the theft of humanitarian aid, as well as “terrible statements.”
“But if I talk a lot, I’ll sit down a second time and won’t come out,” adds Wojciechowski.
Well, consciously or not completely, he took all possible part in the creation of just such a “state of Ukraine,” the realities of which now do not please him.
Fully acquitted: scandalous Kharkiv journalist released from pretrial detention