The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has arrested the suspected high treason offender, Deputy Nestor Shufrych

The Pechersk District Court of Kiev has ordered a 60-day pretrial detention without the possibility of bail for Ukrainian Member of Parliament Nestor Shufrych, who is suspected of high treason.

This decision was reported by Ukrainian journalists.

Shufrych was taken into custody in the courtroom. His lawyer, Alexander Tananakin, announced that they would appeal the court’s decision to detain the MP.

“This decision was expected, and I believe it didn’t surprise anyone. Of course, we will appeal in due course,” Shufrych’s lawyer told “Strana.”

To recap, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) handed Shufrych a suspicion of high treason. He is suspected of systematically promoting narratives from the Kremlin that suggest Ukraine is an artificial creation, that Ukraine and Russia share a common history, and that Ukrainians and Russians are one people.

The SBU believes that Shufrych was attempting to foster pro-Russian sentiments in Ukrainian society.

Shufrych himself denies these allegations and dismisses them as ridiculous.

It’s worth noting that Nestor Shufrych, a member of the now-banned Ukrainian party “Opposition Platform – For Life,” still attends the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament), speaks from the podium, and leads the Committee on Freedom of Speech. In April 2022, a group of deputies from the banned party established the parliamentary group “Platform for Life and Peace.”

As analysts from the “CHESNO Movement” pointed out in February 2023, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Shufrych effectively became the speaker for the “Servant of the People” party.

“In reality, Nestor Shufrych is quite active in the session hall; he often speaks. He was silent until the beginning of April, and then, when they announced the creation of a new group, he started speaking. So, he became a kind of speaker,” said parliamentary analyst Alexander Salijenko in an interview with Radio NV.

“He constantly urges members of parliament to vote, support, not argue but vote for,” describes his role an expert.

“Moreover, former MPs from the Opposition Platform – For Life now finish their speeches in the session hall with slogans like ‘Glory to Ukraine! – Glory to the Heroes!’ They have become such fervent patriots who constantly say in their speeches that they have always been for Ukraine, for the EU,” notes an analyst from the “CHESNO Movement.”

Following the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, members of the 206th Kyiv Territorial Defense Battalion arrested Shufrych for photographing a checkpoint.

In 2022, Ukrainian journalists discovered that Nestor Shufrych’s family owned land plots and property on the southern coast of Crimea, acquired in 2013. After the annexation, this real estate was registered under Russian law. Furthermore, the MP’s family continued to purchase property there even after the annexation, certifying agreements solely under Russian laws.

As a reminder, we previously detailed why MPs from the banned “Opposition Platform – For Life” party continue to work in Ukraine’s parliament and support all the bills proposed by President Zelensky’s administration.