Wife of Putin ally says Kyiv officials beat him up

MOSCOW • The wife of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's top allies in Ukraine said that her husband has been beaten by the Ukrainian security service while being interrogated in detention.

At a news conference in Moscow on Friday, Viktor Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko said that one of two photos released by Ukraine this week showed he had been beaten.

On Wednesday, Mr Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said: "Those freaks who call themselves the Ukrainian authorities say that they want to beat testimony out of Viktor Medvedchuk, 'quickly and fairly', convict him, and then exchange him for prisoners."

Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said on Tuesday it had arrested Medvedchuk, who is leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life party. It is Ukraine's largest opposition party.

One photo of him in handcuffs was released on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's official Telegram account, and another was posted by the SBU on Facebook. Displaying the two photos, Ms Marchenko said one had been taken before he was interrogated and showed no sign of injury. A second image, which she said had been taken during his interrogation, showed him with his hair over his forehead.

"It shows a big bruise and marks which they have tried to conceal with his hair. There is no doubt that he was beaten in the first hours after his arrest," she said.

Three days after Russia's invasion on Feb 24, Ukraine said Medvedchuk had escaped from house arrest. He was placed under house arrest in May 2021 and charged with high treason and later with aiding terrorism.

REUTERS