The house of Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shariy was attacked with Molotov cocktails

The house in Roda de Bera (Tarragona), where Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shariy and his family live, came under attack from incendiary devices. This is one of the most serious acts of violence against Shariy since he settled in Spain three years ago.

Video from surveillance cameras shows how on October 24 at about 4 a.m. local time, unknown persons threw Molotov cocktails towards the building. Because of this, fire broke out in several places.

An informant and critic of the administration of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was subjected to new threats and persecution after the publication of an investigation into drug trafficking in Ukraine, as he himself believes.

Local publication Diari de Tarragona, citing sources, writesthat the attackers attacked the house from the beach, located a few meters from the house. It is alleged that up to six Molotov cocktails were thrown, all of which landed in the private garden of the house.

Two rescue crews were sent to the scene, but the fire was extinguished using a fire extinguisher. As a result of the attack, a strip of artificial grass and some plants were burned out, and the façade of the house was damaged. There were no significant damages or casualties. Sharia’s family was allegedly at home at the time of the attack.

Shariy has a YouTube channel with nearly 2.5 million subscribers, where he denounces the alleged corruption of his country’s government. Two years ago, he began to be subjected to threats and acts of violence after his residence was discovered, writes edition eldiario.es. Spanish justice rejected Ukraine’s request to extradite him for “anti-patriotic propaganda” and “high treason.”

The attack on Shariy’s home with Molotov cocktails occurred after he published an investigation into drug trafficking in Ukraine and Europe in early October. After this, the journalist and his family, writes El Diario, received new death threats on social networks and by telephone. As Shariy explains in his complaint to the Mossos d’Esquadra, one of the calls threatened that a Molotov cocktail would be thrown through the window of his child’s room.

In February 2021, the Security Service of Ukraine informed Anatoly Shariy of suspicion of high treason and violation of the equality of citizens (Part 1, Article 111, Part 1, Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) due to the fact that he acted to the detriment of national security Ukraine in the information sphere, probably at the request of foreign structures, writes Unian publication.

In 2022, it became known that Ukraine had initiated the procedure for Shariy’s extradition from Spain, where he had gone back in 2019. Spanish law enforcement agencies detained Shariy, but the court left him free – under recognizance not to leave the place. In October 2022, it became known that the extradition case against Shariy was closed in Spain because he was no longer in that country.

Shariy is under sanctions from Ukraine due to discrediting the state policy of Ukraine and disseminating manipulative and distorted information. His political party is banned in Ukraine, and his YouTube channel is blocked, the publication recalls.

On his YouTube account, where the “anti-Nazi” tag appears prominently, Shariy posts videos denouncing alleged corruption in President Zelensky’s government. He has also previously criticized presidents Petro Poroshenko and Viktor Yanukovych and has a “pro-Russian label” in the Ukrainian press, which he denies.

Source link