Shariy’s arrest “is more proof that every traitor of Ukraine will sooner or later receive his well-deserved punishment. It is inevitable,” the SBU asserted.
The blogger had previously been granted asylum by the EU in 2012 after fleeing persecution by the government of Viktor Yanukovich, who was pro-Russian.
Shariy’s politics appears to be libertarian and anti-corruption, which perhaps explains how he has faced persecution by both Zelensky and Yanukovych.
The conflict in Ukraine has been portrayed as a war to protect democracy. Instead of expanding democracy and freedom into eastern Europe, the west appears to be importing the fascist repression from Ukraine.
Yes. The arrest could have implications in the US as well as Europe.
The Ukrainian government and western media have promoted lies and misinformation as part of the propaganda campaign to support the Ukrainian war effort. Shariy’s skepticism about Ukrainian propaganda appears to some of the key “crimes” that he was arrested for. Here is a list from the Yahoo link:
Discrediting Ukrainian state policy;
Deliberately spreading misinformation about Russia’s eight-year-long war against Ukraine in the Donbas;
Attempting to disrupt political and social stability in Ukraine;
Inciting internal conflicts on ethnic and religious grounds.
As we have seen with the Biden laptop, government official are more than happy to label true reports as “misinformation” if they conflict with official narratives.
I support Ukraine, but I’ve never been blinded by this insane idea coming out of the idealist circles that it’s some kind of vibrant republic that protects the rights of citizens. It’s a post-Soviet state. They are all like that to varying degrees. To be fair, Ukraine is probably the best out of the lot.
Biden’s statement is correct on some levels. The problem is that Ukraine and NATO are firmly fighting against freedom and democracy and are on the side of a subjugation and autocracy.
Putin and Biden are on the same side in this respect. How will freedom prevail over their combined efforts to crush it?
Yes, many post-Soviet states are noted for their corruption. Ukraine is no exception.
My observation is Spain and Ukraine almost certainly would not have acted without the tacit approval of the US, and I have seen no protests from the State Department about Shariy’s arrest.
Contrast that with response to the recent arrests of Russian dissidents:
The State Department’s words of protest have more than a bit of irony:
“These are the actions of a government…that is fundamentally insecure,” Spokesperson Price declared, “that is not willing to allow its own people to do what is the right of people everywhere, to voice their protest, to march peacefully, to form associations, and to make their voices and their free will heard.”
Lib dismissal-through-sarcasm is transparent. The question hits too close to home, so they pretend it’s only worthy of sarcasm. (Which is an answer unto itself.)
Yes, the same people who pushed disinformation to the kill the Biden laptop story are now pushing more censorship in the name of fighting disinformation. The arrest of the libertarian dissident in Spain on treason charges shows what the Biden administration is itching to do here.
Extradition is a pretty much a guaranteed death sentence given the violations of human rights in Ukraine. If you doubt that, here is a report from the US State Department that documents the abuses:
