Viktor Medvedchuk, the godfather of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, told his version of the arrest by the SBU in April 2022, after he escaped from captivity, on Russian television.
This is reported by the Belarusian edition of “Nasha Niva”.
Medvedchuk claims that he was detained at about six in the evening on April 12. That is, the pro-Russian politician actually denies the widespread conspiracy theories, according to which he was detained immediately after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, and was presented to the public only in April.
According to Medvedchuk, he was detained by terrorist defense fighters, and this allegedly happened by accident – they found out.
They handcuffed me, put on a bag and dragged me into another car,” Medvedchuk says.
Medvedchuk also told where his already famous photo was taken in uniform and in handcuffs.
This is the office of the head of the Counterintelligence Department of the SBU. They brought me in some kind of cap, and such a hairstyle. When he was removed, Bakanov (at that time the head of the SBU) stood in front of me. Before that, I was in a bag on the cement floor, the politician claims.
At the same time, he assures that physical violence was not applied to him, but “everything else was.”
He also claims that he spent several months in handcuffs, which were not removed day or night. But now everything is fine with his hands – “a person gets used to everything.”
On May 11, 2021, Medvedchuk, along with his partner Taras Kozak, was charged with high treason. On May 13, he was sentenced to a preventive measure in the form of round-the-clock house arrest, the term of which was extended several times.
On February 26, 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office instructed the National Police to check for the presence of Medvedchuk at the address where he was under house arrest, but he was not found there. The next day, the then Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said that Medvedchuk had fled Kyiv, violating the rules of house arrest.
On April 12, 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Medvedchuk was detained during a special operation by the SBU, posting a corresponding photo. On April 16, the Lychakivsky Court of Lvov arrested Medvedchuk without the right to post bail.
On September 21, 2022, as part of a prisoner exchange, Medvedchuk was handed over to the Russian side in exchange for the defenders of Mariupol.
Source: Nasha Niva
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.