Former Yanukovych officials receive new sentences
Kyiv • UNN
A former MP from the Party of Regions and two ex-Berkut members were sentenced to 5 years in prison. They were found guilty of abuse of power and inciting national hatred during the 2010 exhibition.
Ex-officials of the fugitive president's time have been sentenced in Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Tuesday, UNN reports.
According to UNN sources, these are Vadym Kolesnichenko, Petro Fedchuk and Serhiy Kusyuk.
A People's Deputy of Ukraine of the VI convocation from the Party of Regions and former chief of the public security police and deputy commander of the Kyiv Berkut were sentenced to 5 years in prison. The former law enforcement officers were also stripped of their special rank of "police colonel"
The court, as noted, found them guilty of abuse of power and official authority, accompanied by violence, incitement to national hatred, hatred and humiliation of national honor and dignity (Article 27(4), Article 28(2), Article 365(2), Article 161(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Prosecutors proved in court that in April 2010, the former MP organized and managed an exhibition of photographs and documents entitled "Volyn Massacre - Polish and Jewish Victims of the OUN-UPA" at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv. "Its purpose was to incite national enmity and hatred," the Prosecutor General's Office stated.
"When visitors to the exhibition tried to express their civic position on the course of these historical events, the former MP called on law enforcement officers to use physical violence against them. At the same time, he insulted the feelings of citizens because of their ideological beliefs," the prosecutor's office said.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, "following the calls of the people's deputy, police officers, exceeding the power granted to them and using violence, caused bodily harm to some citizens." "They illegally detained 13 people. Reports were drawn up against them for allegedly committing administrative offenses. Later, the court found all the detainees not guilty," the statement reads.
Due to the prolonged concealment of the convicts from the investigation and court authorities on the territory of the aggressor state and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, the trial was conducted in absentia.
It is noted that these law enforcement officers are also being prosecuted in another criminal proceeding - for committing a number of serious and especially serious crimes during mass protests in 2013-2014. The trial is currently ongoing.
