The Case of Andriy Belous
Andriy Belous, the former director of the Young Theatre, has been in custody for seven months on suspicion of sexual violence against female students. He was detained on October 21, with his pretrial detention extended until March 21. The allegations are primarily based on correspondence between Belous and the students, as well as among the students themselves. According to the investigation, the offenses occurred between March 2018 and April 2023, with five young women identified as victims.
Wife's Appeal
Iryna Bilous, Andriy Belous's wife, has issued a public appeal to the Office of the Prosecutor General, urging a change in her husband's pretrial measure and equal conditions for his defense. In a Facebook post, she argued that Andriy is being held in a pretrial detention center on an unjustified suspicion.
“Stop the torture of the Ukrainian director, my husband Andriy Belous!” - Iryna Bilous
She emphasized that “for almost seven months, he has been in a detention center on an unjustified suspicion and under an equally unjustified and harshest pretrial measure!”
Iryna Bilous noted that Andriy proposed handing over his foreign passport from the very first days of his detention. She stressed that “he opened his own theater, invested in renovations, and planned to continue working.” Meanwhile, she stated that the core accusations rest on correspondence, which “the opposing side first used as a tool of influence through the media and now tries to use in court proceedings.”
Iryna Bilous also highlighted issues with evidence collection. “Andriy Fedorovych has no access to his phone because it was seized back in October last year, and during this time, due to app settings, some messages may have simply disappeared,” she said. She expressed concern about the conditions under which her husband is reviewing the case, describing them as terrible. “In my view, this is deliberate exhaustion that creates unequal conditions for trial preparation and effectively makes a full defense impossible,” Iryna Bilous emphasized.
Expressing her stance, Andriy Belous's wife called for justice and adherence to Ukraine's Constitution. “I appeal to the Office of the Prosecutor General and directly to the Prosecutor General to provide Andriy Fedorovych Belous with equal conditions for his defense and not to violate the Constitution of Ukraine,” she stated. It is worth noting that the investigating judge of the Pechersk Court confirmed the suspicion, and the appeal upheld the court's decision.
The situation surrounding Andriy Belous underscores the importance of upholding the rights of the accused in criminal cases, as well as the challenges faced by human rights advocates in Ukraine. His wife's appeal to the Office of the Prosecutor General points to potential flaws in the legal system, particularly in ensuring equal access to defense and evidence collection. Public attention to this case could influence future court decisions and human rights practices in Ukraine.