The head of the so-called "court" in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for high treason. After the occupation of the region, the former Ukrainian judge defected to the Russian Federation and participated in the activities of illegal judicial bodies. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to UNN.
Following a public prosecution by the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, the court found a former Ukrainian judge of the Novoazovsk District Court of the Donetsk Region guilty of high treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property,
Prosecutors proved that after the seizure of part of the Donetsk region in 2014, the former judge of the Novoazovsk District Court of the Donetsk Region remained in Novoazovsk, although he had the opportunity to leave for the territory controlled by Ukraine.
In 2017, he agreed to work for the occupation administration and, by order of the so-called "head of the DPR," became a "judge of the Dokuchaievsk City Court of the DPR." In this position, he carried out illegal "judicial" activities, and also actively provided comments to the media and held briefings, justifying the actions of the occupation authorities.
In 2023, the head of the Kremlin appointed him as the "chairman" of the same court.
The convict coordinates the work of the illegally created "judicial" institution, hears cases under the legislation of the Russian Federation, and ensures that decisions are made in the interests of the aggressor state.