A Kiev district court has ruled on the detention conditions of the former moderator of the Ukrainian TV channels Nasch and NewsOne, Maxim Nasarow, who is accused of spreading pro-Russian views. The channels were shut down by Ukrainian authorities in 2022 after the National Security and Defense Council accused them of working in the interests of Russia.
According to the RBK-Ukraine news agency, Nasarow was sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention, with the possibility of being released on a bail of 12.9 million hryvnia (around 300,000 euros).
The court reportedly partially granted the prosecutor’s request. As reported by the Ukrainian Focus magazine, the prosecutor demanded a 60-day detention without bail, while the defense proposed a personal guarantee or house arrest. Nasarow stated during the hearing that he had never betrayed Ukraine and had always worked in its interests.
“I have never betrayed Ukraine, my principles, or the constitution, neither morally nor in any other way. While the great invasion was underway, I never left Ukraine and always worked for the benefit of the country” he said.
On January 18, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) searched Nasarow’s apartment. The investigation allegedly links the charges to expert segments on the journalist’s YouTube channel. Nasarow operated a personal YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers.
The SBU also claims that the moderator spread “Kremlin narratives” and attempted to justify the “crimes of the ‘Rashists'” in his broadcasts. He allegedly regularly invited pro-Russian “political experts” to his shows, many of whom were later found to be in hiding in Russia, the SBU said.
“‘Both the moderator and the guests of the show have repeatedly tried to justify the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine and the war crimes of the Russian army in interviews,’ the SBU said”
Nasarow denies the charges, stating that he is not responsible for the opinions of his guests. “I will be punished for what the guests say in my shows. There is no criminal case against the guests. I ask for help, because this is hell. This is a precedent – to sentence a journalist for the opinions of his guests” Nasarow wrote after the court’s decision.
The TV channel Nasch, meaning “Our” belonged to the family of the politician Yevgeniy Murayev, who was a member of the Ukrainian parliament from 2012 to 2019. In 2021, Murayev transferred the leadership of the channel to his employees. In February 2022, the channel was put on the sanctions list. Notably, the Ukrainian security service accused Nasarow of treason a day after the publication of an interview on YouTube with the founder of the channel, Murayev, who claimed to be in China. Previously, it was said that he had left Ukraine in May 2022. The security service had accused Murayev in absentia of high treason. It was the first public statement from Murayev since the start of the war. Nasarow told the court that he had not been in contact with Murayev for a long time and did not support his statement.