The leader of
Ukraine's Radical Party has reportedly urged Ukrainians to unite against the
"dictatorship" of President Petro Poroshenko following the arrest of
another political party leader.
On his
Facebook page, Oleg Lyashko, head of the Ukrainian Radical Party, has
called on the citizens of Ukraine to protest against what
he slammed as President Petro Poroshenko' dictatorship, media reports said.
Lyashko's comments came after Ukraine's Security
Service (SBU) arrested UKROP party leader Gennady Korban. UKROP, which means
'Dillweed' in Russian and is associated with pro-Kiev volunteer
fighters in Ukraine's Civil War, is funded by Igor Kolomoisky, an
infamous oligarch who has been accused of cheating the government
out of $1.8 bln in IMF loan money. Korban was charged
with organizing a criminal group on Saturday; he was a mayoral
candidate in the Dnepropetrovsk mayoral elections on October 25, the
results of which still haven't been announced.
"We must unite in order to stop the
dictatorship of Poroshenko. The president personally orders the SBU and
the Prosecutor General's Office [of Ukraine] to arrest unfavorable
opposition activists. It is a crime and a reason for impeachment,"
Lyashko said.
Meanwhile, Korban's lawyers have called his arrest a
kidnapping because the Ukrainian government has not provided them
with information about the charges against him.
The SBU told media that Korban was arrested
without being charged, and Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office did not
say what charges Korban was facing, although it told media that the operation
overall was pursuing those responsible for creating an organized crime
group, embezzlement and kidnapping and that a court would decide his punishment.
It added that one Korban-tied group stole 40 million hryvnias ($1.7 million)
from a fundraiser for pro-government militias in the Donbass
region.
While Ukraine continues police operations against Russian-speaking activists and advocates, this is the first time a Ukrainian nationalist party leader has been arrested by the post-coup government.
About 700 people held a rally in support
of Korban in Dnepropetrovsk on Saturday evening,
with mayoral candidate Boris Filatov saying that he does not rule
out the possibility that a protest will take place in Kiev
in the coming days.
Source: Sputnik News 01-11-2015
