What amnesty? Another home arrest over Yanukovych portrait

A Lutsk court has ordered that Ihor Huz, deputy of the Volyn Regional Council be placed under house arrest for 2 months.  He is prohibited from leaving his home at all during that period and must wear an electronic bracelet.

The ruling was passed by judge Vitaly Kovtunenko.

The prosecutor and police accused the deputy of offences under articles 295 (calls to action which infringe public order), 296 § 2 (group hooliganism) and 341(seizure of state buildings or structures) of the Criminal Code.

As reported, on Dec 2 several EuroMaidan activists staged a protest over the savage beating of students and other peaceful protesters on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv on Nov 30.  The protest informed taking three portraits of the president, Viktor Yanukovych out of the Volyn Administration building.  They proceeded with the portraits upside down through the streets to the central square where the portraits were eventually hung upside down on the New Year tree.

Huz is not the only person being prosecuted over the peaceful protest.  On Dec 16, a court in Lutsk placed Maya Moskvych, head of the NGO National Alliance under house arrest.  A few days later, soon after the “amnesty law” was adopted by parliament, the same court allowed her to not wear an electronic bracelet.  The prosecution had asked for her to be remanded in custody, claiming that she would otherwise be able to communicate with people through social networks. 

Five people are facing charges over Yanukovych’s portrait carried upside down.  This is after the law supposedly withdrawing all charges linked with the protests since Nov 21 came into force.  

(Halya Coynash)