The unit of human rights activist and anti-fascist Maksim Butkevich, sentenced to 13 years in the self-proclaimed LPR, was relocated from Kyiv to Donbass only ten days after the actions incriminated to him took place. Colleagues and friends of Butkevich told about this to the “Grati” edition.
According to the prosecution, on June 4 last year, a human rights activist, while in Severodonetsk, fired at civilians from an anti-tank grenade launcher «with the aim of killing them and causing property damage.» As a result, according to the Investigative Committee, two people were injured. Independent lawyers were not allowed to participate in the Butkevich case. According to security officials, he admitted his guilt and repented.
«He said that we must go and defend his country.» Ukrainian human rights activist Maxim Butkevich, who was captured, received 13 years in prison in Lugansk
Colleagues and friends of the human rights activist told the Grati publication that on June 4, his unit could not be in Severodonetsk. According to Butkevich's relatives, he arrived in the Donbass no earlier than June 14, and before that he was in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Information about this is confirmed by personal correspondence, which is at the disposal of «Grat».
“According to my correspondence with Maxim, I have not the slightest doubt that he was not in Severodonetsk on June 4 — he was in touch every day, which is impossible in the conditions of hostilities. Moreover, when his unit was sent on any mission, he warned that he would not be in touch for some time. Which, in fact, happened several times — once in April, and now on June 19, ”sasha Fainberg, a human rights activist, told the Grati publication.
In the second half of June, Butkevich was captured and from that moment was on the territory of the LPR. In peacetime, he was involved in helping asylum seekers in Ukraine, was a member of the board of the Amnesty International branch, the ZMINA human rights center and joined the Solidarity Committee. He also worked as a journalist on the STB and 1+1 TV channels, became a co-founder of Hromadske Radio, and was a correspondent for the BBC in London.
In recent years, Butkevich coordinated the work of monitoring systems and rapid response to human rights violations in Ukraine REAct and the Alliance for Public Health.