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Ex-lawyer placed under house arrest for incendiary comments about government

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Ex-lawyer placed under house arrest for incendiary comments about government
Ex-lawyer and blogger Serhii Kryzhanivsky escorted by a member of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) in September, 2023. (Photo via Ukraine's Security Service)

Former lawyer and blogger Serhii Kryzhanivsky was placed under round-the-clock house arrest on Sept. 15 for allegedly advocating a violent change of government, Hromadske reported.

Kryzhanivsky ran a YouTube channel, "Serhiy Kryzhanivsky LIVE," that primarily published videos about Presidential Office Head Andrii Yermak.

Kryzhanivsky called Yermak "a lieutenant general of the Russian FSB (Russia's Federal Security Service)."

An investigation by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) found that Kryzhanivsky's videos were in violation of Article 109 of the Criminal Code – public calls for violent overthrow of the government, as well as distribution of materials calling for such actions.

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"The former lawyer's video messages were immediately picked up by Russian internet resources, including Wagner's Telegram channels," the SBU said, adding that Russian media would then present Kryzhanivsky's views as popular opinion among ordinary Ukrainians.

The Solomyanskyi District Court of Kyiv placed the ex-lawyer under house arrest for two months and ordered him to wear an electronic bracelet.

Kryzhanivsky founded the law firm Kryzhanivsky and Partners. His YouTube channel had over 120,000 subscribers.

In August, the SBU detained an ex-lawyer in Odesa for allegedly collaborating with Russian security services.

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Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

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