Prominent Maidan activist, Irma Krat, who was detained on Sunday in eastern Ukraine’s protester-held town of Slavyansk, has refuted accusations of being a Kiev spy, saying she is in the Donetsk region in her capacity as a journalist.
The self-defense forces suspect Krat (dubbed by the media as ‘the
Fury of Maidan’), of links with the radical and ultranationalist
Right Sector movement.
One of the local anti-government protesters told Life News that
the 29-year-old is suspected of using fire arms against Berkut
riot police and involvement in the torture of a pro-Russian
activist during February’s coup in Kiev, which resulted in the
overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich.
During her media-conference in Slavyansk on Monday, Krat denied
her links with the radicals, saying that she came to the Donetsk
region to prepare TV-reports about the events in the area.
“It’s unclear what will happen next. But I want to say that they
shouldn’t even try to bring such charges against me. It will be
in vain,” she said.
Krat even presented a press-card, which says she is the
editor-in-chief of the Svoboda Slova (Freedom of Speech)
newspaper.
However, the representatives of the Donbass self-defense forces
pointed out that the document is outdated, as it expired in
December 2013.
At presser, Krat's press pass is brought out, 'self-defence' draw attention to its being out of date. #Slovianskpic.twitter.com/wcEU6qHRwr
— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) April 21, 2014
Krat confirmed that she was part of the so-called Women Squadron
during the Maidan riots, but stressed that “we were
journalists, lawwomen and lawyers. So we didn’t take part in
military action, we only helped with judicial consultations and
the organization of live broadcasting.”
But if criminal charges are brought against her, Krat said that
she’ll be able to stand up for herself as she’s “a good
defender of rights.”
The activist told the reporters in Slavyansk that she’s
disappointed with the Maidan protests and what the overthrow of
the government brought down on Ukraine.
“We didn’t think that something like this could happen…
Nobody thought that there’ll be a civil war, that Ukraine will be
split into two parts,” she said.
When asked about whether she would have taken part in the Maidan
protests if she had known its outcome, Krat replied: “I don’t
know. I can’t answer this question. Maybe I wouldn’t even have
gone.”
“There’s no law now – what we have in Ukraine is total
anarchy,” she added.
The activist said that former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, who was released from prison after the coup-imposed
authorities amended the law, had failed to meet expectations as
well.
“I thought the person would change during her time in prison.
That she’d be a different after being granted freedom. That she’d
save the country, and, with her good relations with Putin, she’d
make thing work. But we didn’t see that,” she stressed.
The activist said that the protest at Maidan, which she
supported, and the protest movement in southeastern Ukraine
mirror each other.
“There are no Russians. There are no separatists here. It’s
just the people here, talking and asking questions,” she
said.
Krat concluded her discourse with the media by saying that she
was treated well by her captors and that she feels fine.
“I don't worry as I’ve done nothing wrong,” she
stressed.
Anti-government protesters have captured government buildings in
Donetsk and other regions across southeastern Ukraine over the
past two weeks.
They call the coup-installed Ukrainian authorities illegitimate
and are demanding a referendum to vote on autonomy for their
regions.
With Kiev’s promised military crackdown on the protesters turning
out to be a flop, radicals from the Right Sector movement are
believed to be taking the army’s place.
Five people, including three protesters and two attackers, were
reportedly killed in a gunfight at a checkpoint on the outskirts
of Slavyansk early on Sunday.