Russia: Viktor Medvetsuk’s wife accuses Kiev authorities of beating him

Oksana Martsenko, the wife of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies in Ukraine, said Friday that Viktor Medvenchuk had been beaten by Ukrainian security services during interrogation after his arrest.

In a press conference in Moscow, Viktor Medvedev’s wife said that in one of the two photos released by the Ukrainian authorities, she appears to have been beaten.

Reuters emphasizes that it can not verify its claim and that neither the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) nor the Kremlin responded immediately to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia ‘s vice – president of the Security Council, said: exchange him with other prisoners. ”

The SBU announced on Tuesday that it had arrested Medvedev, who has long advocated closer ties with Russia and is the leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life, Ukraine’s main opposition party.

A photo of Medvenchuk in handcuffs was published through the official account of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Telegram, while the second was published by the SBU on Facebook.

Presenting the two photos, Martchenko stated that one had been taken before the interrogation and no sign of injury was visible. However, in the second – which he said was pulled during the interrogation – where the hair falls on his forehead, he noted that “it looks like a big bruise, which they tried to hide with his hair”. “There is no doubt that he was beaten in the first hours after his arrest,” he said.

The photo in question shows something like a mark, which is covered by hair, although Reuters emphasizes that it is not able to know what may have caused it.

Three days after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, the Ukrainian authorities reported that Medvenchuk escaped from a house arrest imposed on him in May 2021, accused of high treason and then of aiding terrorists.

The pro-Russian politician, who has remarkably stated that Putin is his daughter’s godfather, denies the accusations against him.

The head of the SBU said on Wednesday that Medvenchuk was planning to flee abroad, secretly crossing into the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova, but his plan fell through.

Marchenko stressed that she wants to know where her husband is, in order to protect himself from any abuse and to provide him with medical care and access to a lawyer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed exchanging Medvedev for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russian forces. Moscow rejected the proposal on Wednesday, warning that those holding him could soon be arrested.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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