Valeriy Koriak, who has been charged for exceeding his authority during the Nov. 30 crackdown of Maidan in Kyiv can return to his post as Head of the Kyiv city police. He has been pardoned according to the amnesty law, which was written in relation to protesters’ activities.
“He is on vacation now,” said a Ministry of Interior Affairs spokesman, and “now he has a legitimate reason to return to work. Now he will make a decision.”
On Wednesday 12 February, it was announced that the cases against Olexandr Popov, Volodymyr Sivkovych and others on the crackdown on the student protest on November 30 is closed according to the amnesty law.
In December, then-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that Koriak was allegedly dismissed. However, Koriak continued to call himself the head of the Metropolitan Militia, although he was suspended from his duties. At the same time, he claimed that he submitted his resignation.
Acting Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaliy Zakharchenko recently said: “The responsibility for these activities (crackdown on November 30) lays on the chief of the Kyiv militia, Valeriy Koriak… He controls all standard documents and operations in the capital. He alone decides everything”.
He also said that the decision to dismiss Koriak and his deputy Petro Fedchuk, as well as of depriving them of their titles depends on court decisions.
Zakharchenko also claimed that no one gave “direct commands” to use force on November 30 on Maidan, and that those beaten were not students but people from “Right Sector” who provoked the Ministry of Internal Affairs employees who allegedly wanted to just edge out the protesters.
The original text is on Ukrainska Pravda at:
