Former Ukrainian businessman suspected of collaborations with Russians asks to be handed over to Russia due to poor health

Ruslan Volynets, lawyer for Viacheslav Bohuslaiev, the 84-year-old former head of the Motor Sich aircraft-engine company suspected of collaboration with Russia and currently detained in Ukraine, said that Bohuslaiev asked to be included in the list for exchange with Russia due to poor health and the absence of other opportunities for release.

Source: Ruslan Volynets in a comment for Suspilne

Quote from Volynets: "The prosecutors helped to ensure that he underwent a medical examination. Everyone knows what’s going on. There’s no need [for Bohuslaiev] to come up with imaginary illnesses to escape from prison. These are objective facts. 

The only issue is the state of his health, its constant deterioration, and the lack of adequate treatment. This is what prompted me to do this, given that there are no other options for [Bohuslaiev’s] release."

Details: Volynets said that the documents shared by Skhemy journalists were not public and added that he was not previously aware of the recordings the journalists also shared.

"[The journalists] release their investigations around 10 days before the detention period is set to be extended. I see a pattern in their work: resurface the question right before the trial, cover it in a new way or even in the same way as before, or surface some new materials to raise the profile of the case ahead of the trial. And the investigators fail to see this," Volynets said.

If the exchange takes place, Bohuslaiev’s lawyers will continue to prove Bohuslaiev's innocence in the case.

Volynets said that the Ukrainian government has not yet responded to Bohuslaiev’s letter.

Previously: On 10 May, Skhemy (a Radio Liberty project) journalists shared a letter in which Viacheslav Bohuslaiev addressed Andrii Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, asking to be included in the list for exchange with Russia.

Background:

• Bohuslaiev is suspected of collaboration, complicity with the aggressor state, facilitating the activities of a terrorist organisation, and, more recently, opposing the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• Bohuslaiev is currently held in a pretrial detention facility. He has denied all the allegations.
• In April, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced sanctions against over 200 legal entities and over 270 individuals, including Viacheslav Bohuslaiev.

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