The families of the Heavenly Hundred and military personnel have said they consider it unacceptable to appoint Oleksandr Babikov, the former lawyer of Ukraine’s disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych to the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Deputy Director, chief in the Mir and CO charitable foundation Myroslav Gai has told the Pryamiy TV channel.
“We see that with this appointment, the SBI officially shows that it is becoming such a repressive body of the new government. We see the SBI is engaged in the prosecution of volunteers, activists, Maidan activists and we understand that their next step after this appointment could not only buy burying the Maidan cases, but also the revising the achievements of the Revolution of Dignity. In fact, this is a rematch. We understand this, and we want to convey this simple thought to the Ukrainian society, which is not indifferent … and to all pro-European, pro-Ukrainian parties, civil associations. Friends, they are going to revise the achievements of the Revolution of Dignity, they want to discredit the Revolution of Dignity,” Gai said in a statement.
The SBI’s press service said a special investigative unit reviewing Maidan cases during a briefing informed the families of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred and their defenders about the first results of their work.
“SBI investigators informed the victims and their lawyers that they are now receiving relevant criminal cases from the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO). The length of the investigation is caused by the large number of episodes and material evidence in cases. Plans for further investigative actions are being drawn up for the accepted proceedings to ensure high-quality results in the investigation society expects from the SBI,” the press service said.
The SBI unit in charge of investigating Maidan cases said it is already ready to send one of them to court.
As reported, the SBI has announced hiring Oleksandr Babikov and Oleksandr Sokolov as deputy directors of the bureau. Babikov worked in the law firm Aver Lex, which was engaged in the defense of Yanukovych. Before his appointment, Sokolov was an employee of Ukraine’s SBU Security Service in Kharkiv region.
On January 11, the Maidan Investigation Department was fully established within the SBI.
In November 2019, a unit to investigate crimes committed during the mass protests in 2013-2014 was created in the SBI.
On November 26, former SBI Director Roman Truba denied reports that investigation of Maidan cases had been halted. He said 50 out of 114 cases were transferred to the SBI for investigation.
On January 2, Oleksandr Buriak, who previously held the position of SBI deputy director, was appointed head the SBI’s Maidan investigation department.
