Suspect in murder of activist Hanul detained in Odesa - Interior Ministry

Law enforcement officers detained a suspect in the murder of activist Demyan Hanul in Odesa. This was announced by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, UNN reports.

Details

Odesa: the man suspected of killing the activist has been detained. A weapon, presumably used to commit the crime, was found in the apartment where he was hiding.

Context

In Odesa, in broad daylight, an unknown man shot Demyan Hanul. The man died.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that a National Police group had left for Odesa to investigate the activist's murder.

Klymenko stated that he had been briefed on the information gathered so far. There are concrete leads. Police operatives and investigators are working to identify the shooter and apprehend him. He noted that the information about the shooter being dressed in military uniform was untrue.

A criminal case has been opened regarding the murder of activist Demyan Hanul, who was shot dead in Odesa today, March 14, by an unknown man. The incident has been classified as a contract killing.

What is known about Hanul

Demyan Hanul criticized Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov on his Facebook page for the development of the Odesa coast.

Thus, after leaving the Right Sector, he created the NGO "Street Front", was the organizer of events for the return of the Summer Theater (territory of the City Garden), against illegal constructions and others. In 2016, Odesa deputies tried to transfer the Summer Theater to a private enterprise, in 2017 the protests escalated into clashes with the police. Hanul was accused of organizing mass riots. Serhiy Sternenko and Ihor Bey were brought to justice with him. In court, MP Andriy Biletsky wanted to take Hanul on bail. The criminal case remained open, in which the then head of the Odesa region police Dmytro Holovin, who in 2019 was suspected of misappropriating state property, is a victim.

In 2020, unknown individuals burned Hanul's car. In the summer of the same year, unknown individuals fired at his car near the village of Vyzyrka. Hanul began to shoot back with a traumatic weapon. In November 2020, unknown individuals smashed his BMW X5 car with bats, and later burned it at a service station.

On May 4, 2023, in Odesa, unknown individuals in military uniform beat Hanul, and the police opened a criminal case. The military command launched an official investigation into the alleged involvement of servicemen in the beating.

The activist was also seen among the attackers at the LGBT march.

The activist asked the SBU to provide him with protection back in July 2024, as he began receiving threats.

Russian resources "leaked" personal information about his relatives online and offered a reward of up to 10,000 USD for an attack on him.

In Russia, Hanul was arrested in absentia on several criminal charges.