Zhenya is OUT OF JAIL!!

An Orphan Smiles has been supporting the effort to get an innocent orphan accused of murder released from prison.

Our attorney Oleg picked Zhenya up at prison at 6:00PM on Tuesday, November 10 and brought him to the local police station to sign some papers. Zhenya's two sisters and Bogdan were already waiting there. Zhenya was in shock. Zhenya thought they were going to beat him again. He didn't dream he would be released.

The charges have not been dropped yet, so technically Zhenia is still a suspect, but the fact that he was released means a lot. This happened after our attorney Oleg arranged a special inquiry into the police by several Parliament members. That was the last drop - after all the media coverage, press conferences, protests from Ukrainian and international human rights groups etc. The police department is finally backing off and is desperately trying to find a way to avoid punishment. Bogdan wants to pass along Zhenya's thanks to everyone who have been supporting him during these years. Without your support Zhenya would have been in prison for 6 more years and would have been labled as a murderer for the rest of his life. Our battle is not over yet, but we are VERY close to victory.

There are many important things that are worth fighting for, and many good projects worthy of support, but there are hardly things more important than JUSTICE and FREEDOM. THANK YOU to everyone who kept Zhenya in their prayers and contributed to legal fees, food and supplies while he spent 3 years in prison for a crime he did not commit!