PODCAST
It’s never a dull week in politics here in Ukraine. This week we are discussing the arrest and sentencing of activist Sergiy Sternenko that has sparked protests in the streets.
We are joined by Oleg Sukhov who has been closely following the story.
Full transcript below:
Activist Sternenko sentenced to prison, stirring protests in the streets
Elina Kent: Welcome to the Kyiv Post Podcast, where you can tune in to stories that give you a deeper understanding of Ukraine. I’m your host Elina Kent. I’m a multimedia producer and lifestyle journalist here at the Kyiv Post. It’s never a dull week in politics here in Ukraine. This week we are discussing the arrest and sentencing of activist Sergiy Sternenko that has sparked protests in the streets. We are joined by Oleg Sukhov who has been closely following the story. Welcome Oleg.
Oleg Sukhov: Hello, thank you for having me.
EK: So Odesa’s Primorsky District Court on February 23rd sentenced civic activist Sergiy Sternenko to seven years and three months in jail and the confiscation of half of his property. Let’s start with explaining who Sergiy Sternenko is.
OS: Sternenko is a Odesa civic activist with nationalist views. He participated in the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, which overthrew ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, and later fought against pro-Kremlin activists in Odesa. Sternenko was also the former leader of the Odesa branch of the nationalist Right Sector organization, and has clashed with many power brokers, including Odesa Mayor Hennady Trukhanov, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Deputy Chief of Staff Oleh Tatarov and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
EK: Ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s chief of staff Andriy Portnov also led a massive public relations campaign to have Sternenko jailed. Why has Sternenko clashed with the Mayor of Odesa and all these high profile politicians?
OS: He accused them of corruption and sabotaging reforms. Moreover, he sees Trukhanov and Tatarov as anti-Maidan and pro-Kremlin.
EK: Sternenko’s views have made him the target of several attacks. In 2018, Sternenko was assaulted on the street by two men. One of his attackers ended up dying due to Sternenko stabbing him during the fight. Homicide charges were brought against Sternenko which attracted a lot of public attention, with many pro-Ukrainian media and activists saying Sternenko acted in justifiable self-defense and pro-Russian media portraying him as a murderer. In June, he was charged with murder and placed under house arrest. Andriy Radionov, who was formerly the chief prosecutor in the Sternenko case, said in 2020 that the charges against Sternenko were “unfounded, non-objective and biased.” He said that he refused to sign the charges and had formally complained about pressure from Prosecutor General Venediktova in the Sternenko case. Venediktova denied pressuring him.
OS: Many activists have been attacked in Odesa in recent years, and some of them are blaming the assaults on the city’s mayor, Hennady Trukhanov. But the mayor denies the accusations. This past week Sternenko and another activist, Ruslan Demchuk, were convicted of the April 2015 kidnapping of Serhiy Shcherbych, a member of Odesa Oblast’s Kominternivske District Council. Shcherbych is currently a member of Trukhanov’s Doveryai Delam (Trust the Deeds) party. The statute of limitations for the kidnapping charges has expired, and the judge used Shcherbych’s claim that Sternenko stole Hr 300 from him in order to convict him on robbery charges, which have a longer statute of limitations. This reasoning has triggered indignation from civil society since Hr 300 is not seen as sufficient motivation for kidnapping.
EK: The lengthy sentence against Sternenko shocked Ukraine’s civil society as even murderers in Ukraine often receive shorter prison terms, and many corrupt officials escape criminal prosecution entirely. Sternenko even accused President Volodymyr Zelensky, his deputy chief of staff Oleh Tatarov, Prosecutor General Venediktova and Odesa mayor Trukhanov of fabricating the case against him and pressuring the court.
OS: Tatarov had been a lawyer for the wife of one of the people who previously assaulted him in a separate case and had called for imprisoning the activist. Tatarov, who was a top police official under Yanukovych, was charged by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine with bribery in December but Venediktova’s prosecutors have effectively buried the case.
EK: Sternenko’s defense also cited procedural violations, correct?
OS: Yes. Searches at Sternenko’s house were conducted without his lawyer, and Sternenko was prevented from contacting him. Despite this, evidence seized during the searches was recognized by the court as admissible evidence. The court also recognized as reliable testimony given by a witness who was not questioned during the trial. Viktor Poprevych, the judge who issued the verdict, also does not meet integrity and ethics standards, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the legal think-tank DEJURE and anti-corruption watchdog AutoMaidan.
EK: And clearly this has upset many people.
OS: People have taken to the streets and protested in front of the President’s office. Regardless of whether Sternenko is guilty, legal experts, lawmakers and anti-corruption activists agree that the only way to prevent such situations is to increase trust in the courts by thoroughly reforming Ukraine’s corrupt and discredited judiciary. It must include dissolving the current High Council of Justice – a judicial governing body implicated in corruption schemes, according to recordings released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
EK: The Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Action Center even wrote on their Facebook page that “A seven year sentence for Serhiy Sternenko is not about justice. It’s revenge on a person who stands up for his views. Revenge against a person that has been a thorn in the side of the police, politicians, state officials and property developers in Odesa. And currently he’s a thorn in the side of those who see Ukraine as a Russian colony and can’t accept the fact that Odesa is part of Ukraine. The Prosecutor General’s Office has again played into the hands of this gang.” That was Oleg Sukhov, thank you Oleg
OS: Thank you
EK: That was this week’s episode of the Kyiv Post podcast. I’m your host Elina Kent. You can read Oleg’s articles on our website: kyivpost.com. You can also subscribe to our podcasts on all streaming platforms and follow along on our website. Stay safe, stay home, and subscribe to the Kyiv Post.
