The Donetsk "people's governor" Pavlo Hubarev must be released, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "We are very worried about the fate of political prisoners in Ukraine who were arrested and jailed only because of their involvement in political protests. One of them is Hubarev whom people in Donetsk have elected as their so-called people's governor and whose fate we discussed repeatedly with our western partners, including Secretary Kerry. The last time I raised this matter was in Geneva on April 17 when we were negotiating the well-known Geneva statement," Lavrov said in a statement, a copy of which was posted on the Foreign Ministry's website.
“Despite all reassurances that the Americans are using their authority to immediately solve this problem, we are not getting any good news,” Lavrov said.
“On the contrary, the news we received today is not good and downright alarming: Hubarev has not been well. We are sending a formal request to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) so that this mission in Ukraine immediately gain access to Hubarev. We are sending the same document to the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Geneva, whose mandate includes, among other things, visiting inmates in jails,” Lavrov said.
“We shall seek immediate access to Hubarev to make sure he is in good health. Of course, we shall continue our efforts aimed at securing his immediate release as a political prisoner,” the minister said.
Hubarev was proclaimed the new governor of the Donetsk region at a rally of Maidan opponents in Donetsk on March 1. Hubarev and his supporters had earlier put forward a number of demands to the local authorities, including a referendum of the region’s status.
Hubarev was arrested in Donetsk on March 6. According to the Ukrainian Security Service, he is charged with “encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine,”
“Actions aimed at the forceful replacement or overthrowing of the constitutional government or takeover of power” and “occupation of governmental or public buildings or structures” under the Ukrainian Criminal Code.
On March 7 the Shevchenkovsky District Court in Kyiv remanded Hubarev into custody for two months.
In March-April Donetsk protestors repeatedly demanded the release of the people’s governor.
On April 1 Russia’s Federation Council member Igor Morozov said that Hubarev was held in a very critical condition at a prison hospital after been brutally beaten and that his relatives were not allowed to see him and there was no way to contact him.
