Court arrests former Nash and NewsOne TV channel host Nazarov for 2 months without bail

21 January 14:07

The former TV host of the pro-Russian TV channels Nash and NewsOne, Max Nazarov (Maxim Diorditsa), was taken into custody for 60 days with the right to be released on bail of UAH 12 million. This was reported by the chairman of the Committee on Freedom of Speech, MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

The decision was made by the Solomyansky District Court of Kyiv. The prosecution requested an arrest without bail.

“The court partially granted the prosecution’s motion, which requested that he be held in custody for 60 days without bail. The defense requested a personal commitment or house arrest,” Yurchyshyn said.

Radio Liberty writes that the defense of the former anchor asked for a softer measure of restraint – house arrest or personal commitment.

At the hearing, Nazarov said that he “never betrayed Ukraine” and worked for its benefit during the full-scale invasion. He also emphasized that journalists are not responsible for the words of guests on the air.

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When journalists asked him whether he kept in touch with former MP Yevhen Muraiev, who is suspected of treason, Nazarov answered in the negative.

He considers the court’s decision “unfair” because he has not committed “any crime, especially the one he is charged with.” He said that he would appeal the court’s decision.

In a comment to our correspondent, Nazarov said that he has “no attitude” towards Yevhen Muraiev, the former owner of Nash and NewsOne TV channels, but noted that he would not say anything out of “respect for the past” that connected him with him.

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On January 18, the Security Service of Ukraine served a notice of suspicion to the former host of Nash and NewsOne TV channels owned by Viktor Medvedchuk and Yevhen Muraiev. A similar suspicion was filed against a guest of the ex-anchor’s YouTube channel, who “in February 2024 already received a suspicion from SBU investigators.”

The SBU states that the suspicion is formulated under parts 2, 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification, recognition of the lawfulness, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants).

According to the case, after the outbreak of a full-scale war, the defendant created his own channel on the Youtube video hosting service, where he continued to spread the Kremlin’s narratives. The SBU says that for this purpose, the blogger regularly invited pro-Russian “political experts” to his broadcasts, many of whom are currently hiding in Russia.

“During the interview, both the author himself and the studio guests repeatedly tried to justify Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as the war crimes of the racists, in particular, missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of our country,” the statement reads.

In February 2022, the National Security and Defense Council decided to impose sanctions against the Nash TV channel, owned by Yevhen Muraiev. The former MP called the sanctions a “crime”.

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Остафійчук Ярослав
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