Arnaud TROUBLE. Photo: Gordonua.com
Swiss journalist Arnaud Trouble said in the comment to the edition “GORDON”, asked the Prosecutor of his country with the statement about the threats from the President of the football Federation of Ukraine, people’s Deputy from BPP Andrey Pavelko. Trouble said that he was going to continue to expose corruption in Ukrainian football.
“Tragedy – the murder of a journalist in Ghana, expose corruption in local football – not scared me, but rather stimulates more devotedly to deal with dirty people, that they were not able to continue their crimes.
I once published two articles exposing the corruption of the President of the football Federation of Ukraine Andriy Pavelko, received personally from it threats and was forced to contact the Prosecutor’s office with the appropriate application. Now Mr. Pavelko presented to me and the publisher contrived and unfounded claim, which including asking the Lausanne court to forbid me to write about him and his corruption,” – said the journalist.
He added that a hearing on this claim has already taken place.
“I’m not going to get ahead of events, telling you about the decision before it will make the court, but I definitely want to draw attention to the fact that in the European practice, there is the concept of inviolable right to freedom of expression enshrined in the European Convention on human rights and is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development. Moreover, Andriy Pavelko is a public person because of his positions, and should be ready for more scrutiny from both the public and from the press. Practice of the European court of human rights is unequivocal in this matter. So the address of Andrey Pavelko in the court of Lausanne is only a sham and a pathetic attempt to prevent the attention of the European press to his person,” – said the Trouble.
Attempt to Ukrainian officials deny in the future to write articles about it the journalist called funny.
“This is too strict a restriction of freedom of speech of a journalist, and it may not be reasonable at all, especially if the topic is of public interest, as in the case of Pavelko. Perhaps in a corrupt Ukrainian court such a ban would be possible because of the influential persons of this policy, however, European courts always analyze the contents of this publication, before you make any decision, but to make such analysis in the future – so long as the article hasn’t been written yet – is simply impossible”, – he explained.
Swiss journalist noted that the authors in other investigations on FFU do not receive such close attention from the President, as he is confident in his positions in Ukraine and the publication in the European press Pavelko represent a real danger.
“All for me, quite simply – in my previous articles I talked about the fact that Mr. Pavelko decently rich, turning a rather simple scheme. I won’t go into details, already repeatedly been mentioned. About this corruption scheme Pavelko and many other journalists filmed dozens of videos and written hundreds of publications, opened criminal cases in Ukraine and Germany. However, to me Mr. Pavelko shows attention: order the publication of dirty untruthful articles personally threatened, sued.
Dozens of journalistic investigations and hundreds of publications in Ukraine is not so worried, and not because they are less truthful and revelatory. In Ukraine Pavelko sure about the lack of consequences for him. And only two of my articles got him so worried, because it was published in Switzerland, where the headquarters of UEFA, whose Executive Board wants to go Pavelko. Mr. Pavelko know that there will not be as easy as in Ukraine, to close eyes on corruption,” – said the Trouble.
After the threats, he believes that the practice of intimidation of journalists, Ukrainian politicians are trying to spread outside the country.
“As far as I can tell from the media, beatings and attacks on journalists in Ukraine has become a routine. With frightening regularity in the Ukrainian press there is information that revelatory activity was the reason for the mutilation of the man. However, until recently, all that was, shall we say, “domestic” thing – criminals in political and business circles dealt with exposing their corruption by journalists exclusively within the country.
Now, however, there is every reason to say that it could spread to the European press, because at stake is a lot of money, and serious consequences for members of schemes which, judging by the fact that Ukraine is in no hurry to understand all this, can only come in if Europe will not keep silent, and let the case go forward. Accordingly, I have reason to believe that threatening me is not just a performance,” said Swiss journalist.
He said that in Ukraine have Pavelko “strong enough to corrupt relationships and political influence”, therefore, a journalistic investigation by Ukrainian authors did not harm him.
“Another possible reason might be the fact that Ukraine is not sufficiently developed a mechanism that allows journalists and citizens with an active social position to fight corruption. In Ukraine, investigative journalists in fact carried out qualitative investigations, collect enough material to attract a specific person accountable, but then the TV screens and the pages of the press this material is not ingested. As far as I understand, it often happens that journalists do not initiate further proceedings and do not unite efforts in this direction, in turn, law enforcement agencies and official organizations are not in a hurry to give the published materials of the course, unless there is a corresponding “political will” – said the Trouble.
He cited for comparison the scandal with the head of the football Association of Ghana, which was caused by a movie about corruption.
“And the reaction of FIFA on the exposure of facts of corruption became a lifelong disqualification of the head of the Association Kwesi of Nyantakyi, and the government of Ghana has dissolved the national football Federation. In the case Pavelko, given his influential position in Ukraine, it not only remains the head of the FFU, a member of Parliament and head of the budget Committee, but in violation of the prohibition of Ukrainian and international legislation, his candidacy was made a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, the elections which will take place on 7 February.
But the fact that the requirements of the laws and corruption of high-ranking officials in Ukraine often turn a blind eye, for anybody not news. I was most surprised that in spite of these prohibitions, criminal investigations in several countries regarding Pavelko, revealing dozens of journalistic investigations, the candidate Pavelko was adopted by UEFA and admitted to the elections,” – said the journalist.
The trouble reported that in his statement about the threats has opened criminal proceedings in office of public Prosecutor of the Swiss Confederation.
“Also, my plan is to appeal to the court regarding his public insults in my address, and the slander, which is considered impermissible and inadmissible. Therefore, as a journalist who puts his life in danger, to convey to the public information about corruption Pavelko, I refer in particular to the Ukrainian media.
Do not stay aside and don’t let down your efforts into the pipe, do not stop there and knock on doors even if they are tightly closed. I, on the other hand, will appeal to UEFA and FIFA, in order to convey to them all the facts known to me according to Andrei Pavelko,” summed up the Arno in Trouble.
In 2018, the Trouble has written two articles for L Illustre, in which he told about the loan of €4 million, which UEFA provided Ukraine for the construction in Kyiv of a plant for the production of artificial coverings for football fields. However, the manufacturers of equipment and materials for the construction of the plant was supplied not directly to Ukraine, and to offshore, which, according to the reporter, stood firm relating to Pavelko.
Journalists of the program “Schemes” in October 2018 also reported that Pavelko is associated with offshore company S. D. T FZE, registered in the UAE, through the budget of the FFU brought more than $1 million.
14 June 2018 at the National anti-corruption Bureau has begun investigating the abuse of the leadership of the football Federation in the procurement of artificial turf fields, produced by the FFU.
According to the Troubles, in November a criminal case on the fact of fraud on the part Pavelko was opened by the Prosecutor’s office of the German Ingolstadt.
A PR Irina Kovalchuk wrote that a group of PR “negatoscope” a few tweets that allegedly Arno the Trouble was dismissed from L Illustré after his interview to “112 channel” and made a public apology Pavelko. Fake tweets, some published Ukrainian edition.
Gordonua.com