People's Deputy Nestor Shufrych, accused of treason and isolated from the political process by a court decision, does not abandon legislative activity. While in pre-trial detention, he registered a new bill on national minorities in the Verkhovna Rada. Its appearance caused a wave of discussions not only because of its content, but also because of the circumstances of its submission.
Draft law No. 13169, which concerns amendments to the law “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine”, appeared on the parliament's website on April 11. There are currently no accompanying documents, and therefore the exact content of the initiative is still under wraps. It is only known that it concerns the use of languages of the European Union countries in the context of promoting European integration.
According to sources in the parliament, the initiative may concern the rights of the Hungarian minority - Shufrych headed the interparliamentary friendship group with Hungary for a long time, and this issue is regularly at the center of diplomatic disputes between Kyiv and Budapest.
The method of registering the document is indicative. In February, Shufrych already appealed to the leadership of the Council with a request to submit a bill on his behalf - he referred to restrictions on access to technology. The Rules Committee then refused, since according to the law, an appeal and a bill are different things.
But within a few weeks, the bill still made it to the Rada apparatus. As the Chesno movement found out, the document came in a cover letter… from the Security Service of Ukraine. Formally, from the head of the pre-trial investigation support department of the SBU.
Thus, the parliament officially registered a document initiated by the accused of treason, who is physically unable to attend the meetings, but retains the mandate and powers of a deputy.
Shufrych currently remains a member of parliament despite his arrest. He was removed from his position as chairman of the Committee on Freedom of Speech, but his mandate was retained. The court allowed him to “exercise his parliamentary powers,” but with restrictions — without participating in plenary sessions.
This creates a legal precedent: a deputy, whom the investigation suspects of many years of cooperation with the FSB, continues to exercise his constitutional right to legislate. Moreover, he does so with the help of the SBU, which is conducting an investigation against him.
As a reminder, Shufrych was detained in the fall of 2023. During searches of his apartment, SBU officers found documents with the development of a scenario for the autonomization of Donbas, Soviet symbols, and allegedly direct evidence of his connection with FSB agents. The investigation considers Shufrych to be one of the main mouthpieces of Kremlin messages in the media.
He is currently under arrest, which has been extended until mid-May.
