Four former high-ranking Security Service officials brought to justice – SBU Head – NRCU
Four former high-ranking Security Service officials brought to justice – SBU Head
17-03-2015 16:34
Four former high-ranking Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) employees have been brought to justice as part of the investigation into the events that took place during the mass protests on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv, SBU Chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has said.
“These are from the ‘top’ [people] of [former President of Ukraine Viktor] Yanukovych’s time – [ex-SBU Chief Oleksandr] Yakymenko, [former department director at SBU Serhiy] Hanzha, [former Head of counter-intelligence at SBU Volodymyr] Bik and [ex-Head of the Anti-Terrorist Center under SBU Volodymyr] Totsky,” Nalyvaichenko said in an interview with “Left Bank” web-based media. He also said that there were currently 78 criminal proceeding against 170 former SBU employees ongoing. “We’re not afraid to cleanse our own ranks,” Nalyvaichenko said. He also said that some detained law enforcers have been exchanged for prisoners. “Unfortunately, for some of them [detained law enforcers], Ukraine had to initiate a reconsideration of the preventive measure [to change them] to a home arrest. As the result, two former high-ranking officials were exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners – lives had to be saved…Often the price was painful for us, the SBU. It means that we apprehend, suppose, a high-ranking traitor, and negotiations lead to exchanging him for a Ukrainian citizen,” Nalyvaichenko said. “One such example is an SBU captain from Donetsk, who led terrorists to the territory of Donetsk airport on May 26… Apprehending him was a matter of principle for us. And we accomplished that task. But then he was exchanged for freedom of over ten our fellow citizens,” SBU Chief added. Previously, Nalyvaichenko said that all the materials related to the mass shooting of people in the center of Kyiv in February 2014 were being looked into, and that Yakymenko was the main suspect. According to Nalyvaichenko, Yakymenko escaped the country together with a lot of materials including plans for the shootings in the center of Kyiv. As reported, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that 27 former Ukrainian officials have been put on the international wanted list, including Yakymenko.