Putin’s friend arrested for treason in Ukraine.
The famous wife of one of Vladimir Putin’s main allies in Ukraine has personally begged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to release him from custody – claiming on Friday that he had been beaten and “persecuted for political reasons”.
Oksana Marchenko – a former TV star who ran X-Factor Ukraine – made a direct appeal for the first time, a day after her husband, Putin’s old friend Viktor Medvedchuk, was arrested for treason in Kiev.
“President Zelensky, I urge you to take all necessary action for the immediate release of my husband,” she said.
“There is no doubt that my husband is being persecuted for political reasons, contrary to Ukrainian law and international law,” she insisted on the 67-year-old oligarch and former leader of a pro-Russian opposition party.
On Friday, she made new calls during a press conference in Moscow, insisting that her husband was a “political prisoner”.
“I have no doubt that my husband was beaten a few hours after his arrest,” Marchenko told a news conference without providing evidence.
Medvedchuk – listed by Forbes as the 12th richest person in Ukraine with a fortune of about 620 million dollars – was arrested for “high treason”.
The United States in January also accused Medvedchuk of meddling in the efforts of Russian intelligence services to prepare Ukrainian politicians to take control of the country with the support of Russian forces.
He has made no secret of his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin, even boasting that the head of the Russian state is the godfather of his youngest daughter, Daryna.