Kharkov doctor, publicist Igor Jadan was arrested in the spring 2015 year and was released from custody in the summer of this year after changing the preventive measure and posting bail. For a long time almost nothing was known about his case.
There were rumors about, that an anti-Maidan doctor was maimed during arrest. Only after publication in 2017 In the year of the political prisoner’s letter to the Ukrainian Ombudsman, many details of his case became clear...
Igor Jadan answered the editor’s questions.
How did the criminal prosecution and your other misadventures begin??
First there were trials on charges of mass riots in Kharkov 6-8 April 2014 of the year. At the same time, I continued to work as a doctor in a clinic.
spring 2015 year, journalists from Komsomolskaya Pravda approached me for an interview.. A publication was published on the anniversary of the Crimean events. Interest was aroused by my article “Operation Mechanical Orange”, written for Russian Journal in 2008 year (the author predicted much of this, what happened in Crimea in the spring 2014 g. – Ord.).
A month has passed. One day I was leaving the clinic after an appointment, and several young strong guys attacked me. They started beating me, dragged into a car. I resisted, demanded to identify himself: “You are the SBU?“They called themselves “Right Sector”. I believed it, because they behaved completely boorishly, did not present any documents. “Now we’ll take you to the forest, we will kill". Put a bag over your head, taken to some basement. Later it turned out, that these are still SBU operatives. And this was the basement of the SBU, with a shooting range. There was a torture room.
They started beating. spoke, that some kind of weapons cache has been discovered. And they beat me with bats for a long time, demanding recognition, what did I have to do with this. Then we saw, that I'm already losing consciousness. I might as well die, without saying anything about it, that was required. This was not their plan. They took me to the 4th hospital, they put me in intensive care under a false name. When I started to come to my senses, I heard, how behind the door a very aggressive young man persuades women to kill me.
Medical workers?
Yes, persuaded them to administer the drug for injection, which is used during anesthesia and leads to paralysis of the upper respiratory tract. Told them: “And this is actually the leader of the white movement (that's how he introduced me). It's no use judging him. You can only kill him.".
I, without thinking twice, I unhook from all the injections and jump out the window. It was the second floor of the intensive care unit. Understood, that I won't run far. But if I am under a false name and they kill me, then no one will know anymore, where and what's wrong with me. The goal was to break this program. They'll pick me up, and I'll already say my name. Jumped out unsuccessfully: broken leg, fracture of three vertebrae.
I was picked up, they carried me to the sanitary inspection station - I gave my last name. Told, that I was kidnapped by the Right Sector. I am placed in another separate room, which is guarded by young people with pistols, in civilian life.
These were already different people?
Yes. They called themselves the city police department. First of all, I asked for contact with my family and lawyer. But I was refused: "Do not rush, everything will be fine. We'll take you home soon.". They refused to introduce themselves. This went on for three weeks: 29 April I was captured, but only 21 May I was taken to court to choose a preventive measure. My family and lawyer were looking for me all this time and could not find me.. And the SBU told them: we don't know that. It subsequently became clear, as young people, who detained me, and all these visitors, and the security were from the SBU. The entire performance was staged by the SBU.
What weapons depot were we talking about??
Apparently he was found at my house. Also the flag of Novorossiya, hung on the wall. 29 April, when I was captured, I had the keys with me. And they conducted a search 1 May. It is seen, using my keys, they threw everything there.
But that is not all. Two weeks after the search, my guards were pulled out somewhere. And they leave me handcuffed to the bed, in a cast and in a corset... I already understood: something's about to happen. Half an hour later three young boys arrive. Two of them have their faces covered with scarves. And the third one is just one of those guys, that captivated me. And he so boldly twirls a knife in front of me, makes some threats. I say: "Well yes, three of us against the chained and broken, with a knife, You're strong". They take grenades and plastids out of their backpack, they begin to roll them away on my fingers. I'm chained, alone in the ward, screaming is useless.
I.e 1 May there was a search, "found" grenades. Subsequently I saw in the case materials, that they sent these grenades for examination, then they took it back 14 or 15 May. Finalized (placed in my hands) and sent again for examination.
take you home, as promised, no one was going to?
20 May my family found me by chance. They were told, that I can be picked up at any time, agreed on the 21st. Family arrives, and I was already taken to court! I was provided with a government lawyer. His arguments, that I cannot be in a pre-trial detention center, no one listened. Without batting an eye, Judge Efremova looked at me, lying on a stretcher: "Of course, detention, without the right to post bail". They didn’t want to admit me to the pre-trial detention center for a long time: "How come, why come here in this condition?! Where can he run away??"But then they took, on call, obviously. Sent to the medical unit. Moreover, they added a red stripe to the card: runaway. And from that moment on, I was led in handcuffs for four years - as if I was prone to escape.. I've been trying to find out for a long time, from whom and where did he run. I thought, that I’m running away from the Right Sector in the direction of the police... They tell me: “Well, you ran anyway. I'm inclined to run away.".
What were you accused of??
Initially the charge was brought, if I'm not mistaken, on three counts. 258-I, no. 2 – committing terrorist attacks. Allegedly I am involved in six explosions in the city. 263-I am weapon storage. And 110th – separatism. Around November 2015 year an additional investigation was carried out: my parents were searched again, with relatives of my accomplices. They were also charged with creating and leading a terrorist organization. (Article. 258-3). And also in the desecration of the national flag of Ukraine (Article. 338). This refers to the episode imputed to me about the explosion of the flagpole. There was also an accusation of damaging monuments and cultural values - this related to the explosion of the UPA monument that was charged to me..
Was there at least one explosion in Kharkov?, which would not be pinned on you?
Car explosion, belonging to the commander of some territorial battalion, I was initially charged with. And then it turned out, that this car was either seized from someone, or was it stolen. And this charge was dropped.
Laugh laugh, but really no one was tied to these explosions, then one by one, then at the same time. Announced, that Larisa Chubarova is accused of blowing up a stele with a flag. My lawyer and I spent a long time figuring it out: so who is accused of attacking the flagpole? Two or three people cannot be accused of the same thing at the same time. Then Chubarova was accused of participating in illegal armed groups. a feeling, that they didn't know, where to put whom and who can be arrested first, decided to take everyone. And we ourselves got confused, perhaps. But that's my guess.
Were you offered some kind of relief?, if you follow the lead of the investigation?
No, not directly suggested. Probably, because the answer was known in advance. Suggested indirectly. That is, they expected some proposals from me. But my proposal is this, if you wanted to hear it: acquitted within two months - and don’t fool me anymore.
You were released from custody at the time of the parliamentary elections. Some changes in the atmosphere are felt?
I perceive everything that is happening now as a political thaw. And that, that they really began to judge me according to the law, that the laws (regarding the uncontested preventive measure) they even softened - also evidence of a thaw. Previously, there was no mention of any option for releasing my, except for the exchange, there was no talk.
Thaw, and at the same time, a discriminatory law comes into force in Ukraine, cave law on language...
They are trying to bring down that form of nationalism on us from above., which existed a hundred years ago, least. AND, of course, nothing good will come of this. I can only say, that these attempts are doomed to failure and can only lead to the final collapse of Ukraine. He's already, in fact, has begun.
People are being tried using methods from a hundred years ago, using fascist methods of the 1930s to instill something, which contradicts reality. One side, unrealistic hopes are instilled. And at the same time, unrealistic ideologies are instilled. They didn't work in 20 century. Why should they work in the 21st? Unclear! What do they want to do in Kharkov? So that we all speak Ukrainian? But it won't happen. There is no such trend there. They are trying to turn ethnic Russians into ethnic Ukrainians. But there is nothing like this in the world, to ethnically reforge more 10 million people.
But these ideologies are being introduced, and the curators of the Kyiv regime do not object?
The people and elites are being indoctrinated with the exorbitant ambitions of the state of Ukraine, which is almost a European superpower. Absolutely unrealistic dreams are instilled in the people. And then these people, angry about it, that his expectations were not met, will take to the streets and begin to destroy the authorities. Moreover, this repeats with regularity once every ten years..
I think, that couple of dozen families, who currently own 90 percent of Ukrainian gross product, completely lost sense of reality. And they only think about it, to make it faster, grab more here and run away somewhere. But the responsible elite does not behave this way, does not destroy that state, in which he lives.
How do you assess the possible consequences of the sale of Ukrainian land?? The new government is already speaking directly about this “prospect”.
This all reminds me of some kind of liquidation commission., which owes a bankrupt company (and in this case - a bankrupt state) sell in parts and at a higher price. This is the level of elite thinking, acting on the principle “after us there may be a flood”. And the result of this sale is completely predictable. The money will run out again, and there will simply be no other sources of replenishing the budget and replenishing pockets. We decided to break the last pot and save, which were the result of the labor of previous generations, sell under the hammer. And then all that remains is to pack up my things and get out of here somewhere far away, on the island. clear, that a new revolution awaits Ukraine in this direction. That is, a period of chaos, new collapse, loss of territories and other things, which accompany revolutions.
Vladimir Artemenko
