Ukrainian opposition leader facing ‘high treason’ trial implores European Court of Human Rights to intervene in ‘political’ case

Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of the second largest party in Ukraine’s parliament, has called on Europe’s top court to step in after he was charged with ‘high treason’ based on as-yet undisclosed evidence from security agencies.

In a statement issued on Friday, the MP’s lawyer, Rinat Kuzmin, revealed that “Medvedchuk has filed a second lawsuit against Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights.” This is in addition to one brought at the beginning of the month, which has already “been accepted for proceedings by the European Court and can be considered on a priority basis in the near future.”

The complaints originate from what the politician and his legal team say are a series of decisions by authorities in Kiev, “violating his right to a fair trial, and of liberty and personal security.” Medvedchuk is under house arrest while prosecutors prepare a case against him for treason, after he was arrested by the country’s security services. While the details of the charges are being kept confidential, they are believed to relate to alleged business interests in Crimea, which was reabsorbed by Russia in 2014.

According to Medvedchuk, his party, Opposition Platform – For Life, had been gaining in the polls in the weeks leading up to the allegations being presented against him. The group draws much of its support from native Russian-speakers in the east and south of the country, and advocates reversing the course the country has taken since the 2014 Maidan and seeking reconciliation with Moscow.

However, he has rejected claims from nationalist politicians that he is tied to a pro-Kremlin agenda and insists he represents a legitimate segment of the Ukrainian population, saying that he would “completely throw out accusations of so-called pro-Russianness... Our party received millions of votes of confidence during the last elections.”

In an exclusive interview with RT in February, the opposition leader claimed that political prosecution for “crimes like treason and espionage is commonplace” in Ukraine, but said he would not consider fleeing the country. “I feel like I’m ready to fight – to fight against arbitrariness, against repression, against falsification… I am prepared to stand up to these threats,” he said.

Medvedchuk insisted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is engaging in “political repression, the establishment of a dictatorship, the closure of channels, the policy of discrimination against the Russian language, the policy of Russophobia and the policy of usurping power.”

If convicted of the crimes Ukraine’s prosecutors say he committed, the opposition leader could face up to 15 years behind bars.

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