Former Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko dealt yet another blow to investigations into the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution just before resigning on Aug. 29, the in absentia investigations department of the Prosecutor General’s Office said late on Aug. 30.
Before leaving office, Lutsenko took more cases away from the department. The department is headed by Sergii Gorbatuk, an outspoken investigator who won the trust of the families of about 100 slain EuroMaidan protesters and civil society.
Lutsenko also closed a case against Igor Kaletnik, a major suspect in cases into the era of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych.
At the same time, Lutsenko appointed Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoly Matios, a controversial former official in Yanukovych’s administration, to oversee the EuroMaidan cases. However, newly-appointed Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka fired Matios on Sept. 2.
Investigators and lawyers warn that investigations into the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, including into the murder of more than 100 protesters, may collapse.
A recent restructuring of the EuroMaidan investigations unit sidelined investigators and prosecutors trusted by civil society, while officials accused of blocking EuroMaidan cases were put in charge of the investigations. Moreover, the position of newly-elected President Volodymyr Zelensky and Riaboshapka on these cases remains unclear.
Lutsenko’s spokeswoman, Larysa Sargan, denied the accusations of Gorbatuk’s unit, while Riaboshapka did not respond to requests for comment.
Controversial prosecutor
Lutsenko’s appointment of Matios to oversee the EuroMaidan cases triggered a backlash from civil society because the military prosecutor held a key position under Yanukovych in 2011-2014. In August, Riaboshapka said that he saw no point in the existence of Matios’ military prosecutor’s office.
Matios has acquired the reputation of a controversial and scandalous prosecutor.
His asset declarations are also controversial. Despite being in public service his whole professional life, Matios declared owning many luxury watches, as well as 20,000 British pounds and Hr 150,000 (roughly $6,000) in cash.
Matios’ wife, Iryna Barakh, owns a large land plot, several apartments and several businesses. She also has over $900,000, most of which she keeps in cash.
Matios has also been accused of fabricating cases against volunteer fighters and blocking those against top generals. He denies these allegations.
Transfer of cases
Lutsenko also took 20 investigations away from Gorbatuk’s unit and transferred them to the police, the State Fiscal Service and the Security Service of Ukraine. He claimed that the investigations were being carried out ineffectively.
Lutsenko’s spokeswoman Sargan responded by saying that the 20 cases were not related to the EuroMaidan Revolution. Gorbatuk in turn said that the cases included corruption investigations against Yanukovych’s son Oleksandr, Yanukovych’s Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko and Yanukovych’s Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka.
Gorbatuk said that his department currently has the authority to investigate 50 cases.
Meanwhile, on Aug. 29, Deputy Prosecutor General Serhiy Kiz closed a case against ex-Verkhovna Rada Deputy Speaker Igor Kaletnik, claiming that he committed no crime.
The case involves alleged violations during the adoption of the so-called “dictatorship laws,” of Jan. 16, 2014, which would have restricted the right to protest and other civil liberties.
Gorbatuk and Oleksiy Donsky, the former head of the prosecution unit for the EuroMaidan cases, told the Kyiv Post in August that Kiz had replaced the prosecutor in the Kaletnik case with himself.
Donsky said he believed the decision to be unlawful because it was not based on any of the grounds stipulated by the law.
“They want to close the Kaletnik case because huge money is involved,” Gorbatuk said. “I won’t be surprised if Kaletnik re-appears in Ukraine and returns to big politics.”
Kaletnik, a member of the Communist Party, was the head of the customs service in 2010-2012 and a deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada in 2012-2014. He was accused of being a gray cardinal behind customs corruption schemes, which he denies.
Sargan claimed the Kaletnik case had been closed lawfully due to a court ruling. But Gorbatuk said the court had no right to order the closure of the case under Ukrainian law.
Sabotage of EuroMaidan cases
In early August, Donsky’s prosecution unit was replaced with a new unit headed by Viktor Mysyak, a former deputy of Kiz. Donsky was effectively fired.
The new unit reports directly to Kiz. Gorbatuk and Donsky say this will allow Kiz to influence and block EuroMaidan investigations. Kiz did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Gorbatuk’s unit will lose all of its investigations in November as the Prosecutor General’s Office is being stripped of its investigative functions.
The families of slain EuroMaidan protesters said that the restructuring would “destroy the united coordination center for investigations and the unified vision and strategy” and would “suspend, delay or even destroy the (EuroMaidan) investigations.”
New government’s position
Kiz, whom Gorbatuk accused of blocking EuroMaidan cases, was promoted to deputy prosecutor general in July.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Schemes investigative project reported, citing their own sources, that Kiz was promoted because he was backed by Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Bohdan.
Bohdan did not respond to requests for comment.
Riaboshapka told Channel 24 on Aug. 6 that he needed to examine the EuroMaidan cases to understand their prospects.
He said, however, that many of the old cases may be “lost.”
“Sometimes we’ve got to be honest and say the truth: (in some cases) we can’t achieve the results expected by society, and we shouldn’t keep lying and making society believe in some hopes,” Riaboshapka added.
