Ukraine: Accused of “treason”, a Ukrainian blogger placed in detention
Ukrainian policemen (Illustrative image).
REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Gleb Liachenko, a 33-year-old blogger and "
political expert
", has been remanded in custody by the Ukrainian secret services, who accuse him of having supported the Russian invasion.
This is the second such arrest in 24 hours.
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At 33, he sometimes appeared on television as a “
political expert
”.
But for the SBU, the Ukrainian intelligence service, Gleb Liachenko is nothing more than a “
pseudo-scandalous journalist
”.
This Thursday, March 31, the blogger was placed in preventive detention for 60 days in Lviv, in the west of the country.
"
Special services have stopped the activities of a scandalous '
journalist'
who was engaged in illegal activities to the detriment of Ukraine's security
," the Lviv branch of the SBU said on Facebook, adding that he was accused of "
treason
".
“
Using the media, the traitor supported the actions of the aggressor country
,” the SBU statement continues, according to which “
this propaganda was successfully used by the Russian media to justify the criminal actions of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
".
Facts for which Gleb Liachenko is accused of treason, a crime punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison.
He is likely to be released on bail against the payment of four million rubles, or 122,000 euros.
According to the information site Censor.net, Gleb Lyachenko assured the court that he simply wanted “peace to come” and pleaded freedom of expression.
Already on Wednesday, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office charged a resident of Kramatorsk with "
collaboration with Russian forces
".
He is accused of denying Russia's armed aggression and appealing for Moscow's support on the TikTok social network.
A week ago, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law that makes collaboration with Russia punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
►
To read also: War in Ukraine: not all propaganda is created equal
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