UWC Letter
to President Viktor
Yanukovych Concerning the Detention of Ruslan Zabiliy, Director of the “
The President of the Ukrainian World Congress, Eugene Czolij, sent
a letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on
On
“[…] Article 15 of the Constitution of Ukraine
states that:
Censorship is prohibited.
In addition, Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the General Assembly of
the Organization of United Nations in 1948, states that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.
UWC believes that governmental agencies should
take all necessary measures to prevent the violation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms and the return of
On
“The Director of the “Lonsky Street Prison”
Speaking in Kyiv today, Zabiliy recounted how he
was arrested the day before at
In Zabiliy’s own words, he was arrested on a
verbal order issued by SBU Chief Valeriy Khoroshkovsky. The purpose of the
arrest, according to Zabiliy, was to impede his work with
previously-declassified materials and to thus limit their circulation.
A laptop computer and two hard disc drives were
unlawfully confiscated according to the historian. They contained electronic
copies of historical materials and his academic research which, if they are not
returned, will be lost.
Zabiliy said he was writing about strategies and
tactics employed by the UPA [Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the Second
World War]. He said the SBU agents told him to consider instead working as a
schoolteacher. They asked about his contacts with foreign academics and whether
he had any proof that the documents he is working with do not contain any state
secrets.
Zabiliy said he used only documents that were
declassified by the SBU in 2008 and 2009 for his work. He said the
documents are freely available on the SBU’s website.
[…] Zabiliy said he wrote a statement addressed
to SBU Chief Valeriy Khoroshkovsky requesting an explanation and the return of
his personal property. “I demand that Mr. Valeriy Khoroshkovsky explain the
actions of the service’s employees and the prompt return of my personal
property – computer and external data storage devices. They contain copies of
historical documents, my academic research and private information,” according
to the statement. The museum director also asked the SBU leadership to explain
an order issued by the head of the Lviv oblast SBU to deny museum
employees and academic researchers access to their places of employment and
computers.”
In connection with the aforementioned, the UWC
calls upon you to investigate Ruslan Zabiliy’s case and to explain the actions
of the SBU that have become a source of grave concern in
Given the critical nature of the situation, we
request a reply to this letter by