"Some participants in the judicial process forget about the value of human life": Prosecutor General explained the decision to represent the prosecution in the case of murder on the funicular

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, who today supported the prosecution in the court hearing on the case of the murder of a young man on the capital's funicular, explained his decision to personally represent the prosecution, a correspondent of UNN reports.

Firstly, it is my job, my duty to also be a prosecutor in court hearings. Secondly, after taking office (as Prosecutor General – ed.), I identified the protection of children's rights and freedoms as the main priority. Thirdly, I saw an unfair practice where some participants in the court hearing forget about the value of human life, especially a child's. And sometimes they put the rights of the accused, the rights of murderers, above the rights of the murdered child, unfortunately. And I saw that the process was protracted – this court hearing has been going on for more than a year, and I decided to support my team and achieve a fair punishment for this accused, namely life imprisonment.

Addition

Today, August 14, the Shevchenkivskyi Court of Kyiv extended the pre-trial detention of Artem Kosov, an employee of the State Protection Department, accused in the case of the death of a teenager at the funicular station, until October 11 without the right to bail. The defense of the accused asked to mitigate Kosov's pre-trial detention and change the arrest to round-the-clock house arrest.

At today's court hearing, a new pro bono lawyer was appointed. The next hearing will take place on August 20.

Recall

On April 8, 2024, Artem Kosov was notified of suspicion of intentional murder of a teenager. As established by the investigation, the incident occurred at the upper funicular station, which leads to the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. Kosov, being intoxicated, began to harass a group of teenagers, among whom was Maksym Materukhin. Kosov pushed the 16-year-old boy, who died from the impact when falling.

The investigation in the proceedings was conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation, as at the time of the crime, the suspect was serving in the UDO.

On April 9, 2024, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv remanded the law enforcement officer in custody for 60 days, without the right to bail. After that, the pre-trial detention was extended several times, and currently the accused is in the pre-trial detention center.

On May 5, 2024, DBR employees completed the pre-trial investigation, after which the case materials were handed over to the defense for review. On May 29, the indictment against Artem Kosov, an employee of the State Protection Department, was sent to the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of the capital. During the investigation, DBR investigators established that the murder of the minor was committed out of hooligan motives, for which he faces life imprisonment.