Zaporizhia – Two activists of Zaporizhia regional branch of the Svoboda All-Ukrainian Association, who were detained by the police on suspicion of blasting off a monument to Stalin in Zaporizhia, are out of reach, a lawyer and party fellows can not get in contact with them.
The lawyer of the detainees, Serhiy Hayduk, told Interfax-Ukraine on Saturday that the head of the regional branch of Svoboda, Vitaliy Podlobnikov, and his deputy Yuriy Hudymenko were detained and brought to Zhovtnevy district police department of the city, but the police did not allow the lawyer to meet with them.
"The police would not let a defender to Yuriy Hudymenko. He has been kept inside the district police department for about twelve hours already. We cannot get in touch with him. At 0900, the head of the regional branch of Svoboda, Vitaliy Podlobnikov, was detained. I do not know in what status they were detained: as witnesses, suspects or defendants. They are facing up to 12 years of imprisonment," Hayduk said.
The activists of Zaporizhia branch of the Svoboda Association, who have gathered outside the Zhovtnevy police department, claim that their organization has nothing to do with the explosion of the monument.
Zaporizhia nationalists did not conceal their resentment to the erection of the monument to Stalin in Zaporizhia, but they would not go to extremes," assistant head to the party’s regional branch Viktor Boronenkov said.
He believes that his party could have fallen victim to provocations by their political opponents.
