In its verdict, the Svyatoshinsky court found all five fighters of the special company of the Kyiv “Berkut” innocent of charges of terrorism, obstruction of peaceful protests and illegal possession or handling of weapons.
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As the Watchers project reports, the prosecutor’s office will insist on a return to this classification in the appeal.
Prosecutor Igor Zemskov announced this after the hearing on January 26 in a comment to Watchers. Lawyer Goroshinsky believes that the Berkut members need to be acquitted, and that is what he will ask for in court.
As a result of consideration by the Svyatoshinsky District Court of Kyiv, Tamtura was completely acquitted, Marinchenko was sentenced to 5 years, but was released from serving his sentence due to his previous stay in a pre-trial detention center. Three more wanted defendants received guilty verdicts: Yanishevsky – life imprisonment, Abroskin – 15 years, Zinchenko – 15 years.
The five Berkut members accused in this case are not the only ones who participated in the execution of protesters that day on Instytutskaya, both directly and organizationally (for example, by orders). This verdict does not mean that no one else can be convicted for participation in the shooting – however, this trial was the first in which the circumstances of the death of each of the 48 killed protesters were established in detail, a number of versions and openly propaganda narratives were refuted.
The court found all five innocent of charges of terrorism, obstruction of peaceful protests and illegal possession or handling of weapons. Consequently, the prosecutor’s office will insist on appeal to return to this classification.
The prosecutor’s office believes that on February 20, 2014, the defendants were the perpetrators of a deliberate strategy by the authorities of the time to stop protests by firing firearms into a crowd of unarmed people in order to intimidate them and suppress the protest.
According to the investigation, the court erroneously reclassified Yanishevsky’s actions regarding some of the victims accused of premeditated murders and attempted murders as murders indirect due to his subordinates, committed due to negligence.
Yanishevsky, Zemskov noted, gave orders to his subordinates (Abroskin, Zinchenko and other fighters) for the indiscriminate use of firearms and was aware that his subordinates would shoot at unarmed people.
The court stated in its verdict that the use of secured weapons by Tamtura and Marinchenko on February 20, 2014 was not proven.
However, according to the prosecutor’s office, such court conclusions are refuted by evidence containing information about the use of weapons by these two defendants. We are talking about a ballistic study of 2 balls found and handed over by a witness in the case and the victim Golodnyuk.
The court also concluded that Zinchenko, Abroskin and Marinchenko allegedly did not take possession of the illegally disappeared firearms. However, elements of the weapon were subsequently discovered at the bottom of the Vita River in the Goloseevsky district of Kyiv.
Earlier, the Goloseevsky District Court of Kyiv sentenced Sergei Yakovenko in absentia to 10 years in prison, who helped the Berkut officers escape after the mass executions of protesters on Instytutska Street in Kyiv. According to investigators, he also contributed to the destruction of weapons used against the protesters.
New suspicions
On January 29, the DBR reported suspicion to the former commanders of the Berkut special forces unit, who tried to destroy the weapons with which their subordinates killed participants in the Revolution of Dignity.
As noted by the State Bureau of Investigation, on February 20, 2014, special forces on Instytutska Street in Kyiv killed 48 protesters and wounded 90 with these weapons.
The former regiment commander and company commander of the PMOP “Berkut”, subordinate to the GUMVD of Ukraine in Kyiv, realizing that they had provided criminal orders, decided to hide traces of the crimes committed and destroy the weapons used to kill citizens.
Exceeding power and official authority, they organized the transportation of weapons from the territory of the location of the GMOP “Berkut” and illegally destroyed service firearms in different places in Kyiv. They cut it into pieces with an abrasive material and mechanically removed the serial number markings. After this, Berkut workers dumped the remains of the weapon in a tributary of the Dnieper – the Vita River – and buried it on the shore.
In particular, the following were destroyed:
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24 7.62 mm AKMS assault rifles;
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Dragunov sniper rifle;
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three 12 mm Fort-500 guns;
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shotgun “Fort-12” caliber 9 mm.
The actions of the defendants are qualified under Part 3 of Art. 365, part 2 art. 262 and part 2 of Art. 263-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the maximum penalty for which is 10 years in prison.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.