“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: We have a scary man visiting us – someone capable of changing national borders using Photoshop. This man may be "assisting terrorist organizations." The scariest thing is that they're afraid to keep this man in prison. They tried, but they were afraid. They let him go. Hello, Pavel Volkov.
Pavel Volkov: Good evening.
Valentin Filippov: Your case file states that you traveled to Moscow, 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 file doesn't just contain addresses; it doesn't even contain the information you're talking about. This information exists only in "SBU information sources," which brazenly disseminated it. And I think this issue will be addressed after the trial, because such things are simply unacceptable, and libel lawsuits can be filed against local media outlets. Indeed, there are no such materials in the case file.
Valentin Filippov: One young woman, who spent a considerable amount of time behind bars after being arrested by the SBU, said, "There I suddenly realized that I wanted to be a separatist and a terrorist."
Pavel Volkov: It's undeniable that they're turning people away from the current government. Because when they resort to such repressive methods against citizens, mindlessly fabricating cases that are identical (they're all the same, if you read them), this is already raising questions in Europe.
Valentin Filippov: Do you seriously think that Europe doesn't fully understand what they've built in Ukraine?
Pavel Volkov: They live their own lives. I recently learned that the Belgian parliament is actually holding a meeting to discuss what clothes the "Manneken Pis" should wear.
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 10% of the population has left. The number of Odessans in prison is also in the hundreds. Some say in the thousands. So, people live in the same building, and 10% of their neighbors have disappeared. They notice.
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, leaflets and money. Initially, during the investigation, they said two thousand people died because of my actions. That's why the charge was up to life imprisonment. And the leaflets—they were, like, completely meaningless.
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 did they suddenly let you go? And the charge isn't life imprisonment, it's lesser.
Pavel Volkov: The charge doesn't carry a life sentence, but during the investigation, it was reclassified from Part III to Part II. That's only up to 10 years. What nonsense.
Valentin Filippov: Nonsense. You've already served 13 months.
Pavel Volkov: Well, that was after four months. But they added Article 258/3, Part I. It's "other assistance to a terrorist organization." The sentence is up to 15 years. That's 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. Should they 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: Well, that's right.
Pavel Volkov: And finally, 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. Because one of the judges on the panel had changed. The judge had broken 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 made them turn this machine against you?
Pavel Volkov: Actually, I visited the SBU back in 2014. During the Maidan, all that unrest, we, along with other citizens and residents of Zaporizhzhia, defended the Lenin monument from vandals, stood outside the regional administration building, defended it from rioters, and then held talks with everyone. And I was there.
Valentin Filippov: That is, you are simply on their list.
Pavel Volkov: Yes. Absolutely. So we're all on the hook here in this regard. But back then, it was interesting. They told me, "Go ahead, everything's fine, just don't do anything bad, because we might need you when we fight the nationalists." Those were some really 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. That's why everyone's watching. Besides, it's no secret, I've never hidden it, but my uncle lives in Donetsk. I've visited him many times over the years. He's a scientist. A PhD in chemistry. He retired a long time ago. And he had a heart attack. I went to see him, my wife and I went to see him. We helped him there. We met, talked, and returned. We received official permission to cross the line of contact. From the SBU, of course, as everyone does. But for some reason, they thought we went there to support the terrorists.
Valentin Filippov: At least one. And a chemist, too.
Pavel Volkov: And also a chemist. Scary stuff. But a chemist is a pharmacist. Probably poisons.
Valentin Filippov: I want to wish you that this idiocy ends.
Pavel Volkov: Well, I understand the judges are open to dismissing the case quickly. They're probably fed up with it all. The case is unique in its insanity... Although, what do you mean unique? Everyone has that same 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.
English version :: Read in English "Words are becoming more dangerous than a machine gun. Fifteen hundred people are behind bars"