Bohdan Danylyshyn: ‘We can conclude that political persecution exists’

Bohdan Danylyshyn, the former economic minister who served under ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, was released from jail in Prague on Jan. 14, after the Czech Interior Ministry granted him political asylum.

Last year, the general prosecutor accused Danylyshyn of abusing his official powers, incurring Hr 14 million in losses to the state. The accusation involved a one-bid contract to build a parking lot for Terminal D of Kyiv Boryspil Airport. Danylyshyn is also accused of illegal purchases of fuel for the army in 2008.

In August 2009, law enforcement authorities asked Interpol for an international arrest warrant. The Czech police on Oct. 20 arrested Danylyshyn following his meeting with Ukrainian investigators at the Ukrainian Embassy in Prague.

In a Jan. 14 Kyiv Post interview, Danylyshyn said that granting political asylum to him in the Czech Republic is proof that political persecution exists in Ukraine. As he noted, criminal cases are being selectively launched against former officials while allegations of corruption by those currently in power are being ignored.

Kyiv Post: What are you feeling now, having been freed after being granted political asylum? Has justice prevailed?

Bohdan Danylyshyn: Justice will prevail when all unjustified criminal cases launched against me in Ukraine will be closed. I believe it is difficult to speak of any justice under the current system [in Ukraine]. For example, my lawyers have not yet been given access to my case. I think that my political asylum is also a manifestation that the rule of law in Ukraine should be a top priority.

KP: By granting you political asylum, have Czech authorities de facto confirmed the existence of political persecution in Ukraine?

BD: If criminal cases against ministers from other governments are being closed while only cases against ministers from Tymoshenko government are being pursued, then we can conclude that political persecution exists.

KP: Representatives of the Regions’ Party backing President Viktor Yanukovych accused the Tymoshenko bloc of allegedly bribing some European officials for you to get political asylum. What can you say in response to that?

BD: This is nonsense. European officials cannot be bribed. […] If Ukrainian authorities want to honestly investigate corruption, they need to probe the activities of all governments, [prior ones and the current one], not just look at the activities of the last government of Yulia Tymoshenko.

KP: Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Voytsyshen said that the General Prosecutor’s Office would continue pursuing your extradition to Ukraine. Do you think this is possible?

BD: The decision of the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic gave me international protection. There was appropriate justification for this. Of course, my lawyers will continue working in Ukraine.

KP: There were conflicting stories about how you were detained in Prague in October 2010. Some suggest you showed up at the Ukrainian Embassy there yourself. Others suggest you were captured. How did it happen?

BD: By prior arrangement, I myself went to meet representatives of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office at the Embassy of Ukraine in Prague. After I provided them with my explanation [on the case], I was arrested near the embassy.

KP: How closely have you followed developments in Ukraine? What is your analysis of the current situation?

BD: I think that if Ukraine genuinely wants to focus on its European integration, all must be done to establish an independent judiciary, one that does not engage in selective and politically-motivated prosecutions. What we clearly see now is an attempt to intimidate the opposition, to squeeze it out of the political arena.

KP: What encouragement could you give to those in Ukraine who claim to be suffering from persecution?

BD: Ukraine should not stray off the path of European integration and values chosen in 2005 [following the Orange Revolution.] I still have hope that we can establish objective investigations, an independent judiciary and fair resolution of conflicts without political pressure, which now exists in Ukraine.

Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at [email protected]