Officer from Sumy region to face trial for torturing subordinate soldiers - SBI
Kyiv • UNN
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has submitted an indictment to the court against a deputy battalion commander from Sumy Oblast who tortured soldiers. The officer systematically abused his subordinates, simulated executions, and shot one in the foot.
The State Bureau of Investigation has submitted an indictment to the court against a deputy battalion commander who tortured soldiers. This was reported by the SBI, writes UNN.
SBI employees have completed the pre-trial investigation against the deputy commander of one of the battalions stationed in the Sumy region. The indictment has been sent to court.
According to the investigation, the officer systematically abused his subordinates and subjected them to brutal violence.
The illegal actions began after two servicemen recorded a conversation with the commander on a mobile phone, during which he threatened to shoot them if they refused to follow his instructions. Later, one of the soldiers published this recording on a social network.
After the video was published, the deputy battalion commander began to deliberately persecute the authors of the recording. To force them to delete the video and publicly apologize, he lined up the two victims, pulled out his service pistol, and fired five shots — at their feet and over their heads, simulating an execution.
After that, the officer brutally beat the soldiers with a military helmet, striking them on the head and torso. As a result of the beating, one of the victims suffered a torn meniscus, and the helmet itself was deformed.
Since the video was not removed from the network, the accused intensified the pressure even more. He ordered an assault rifle to be brought, shot the mobile phone, and then deliberately shot one of the victims in the foot. After that, the officer instructed to record the injury as self-inflicted.
In addition, the investigation established another episode of violence. Having a work conflict with another deputy battalion commander, the accused hit him in the head before a service meeting, causing bodily harm.
The officer is charged with torture, violation of statutory rules of relations between servicemen, and abuse of power by a military official (Part 3 of Article 127, Part 2 of Article 406, Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He faces up to 12 years in prison.
The accused is being held in custody in a pre-trial detention center.