In Ukraine, former officials from the time of Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency were sentenced in absentia. Among them are Vadym Kolesnichenko, a deputy of three convocations from the Party of Regions, who authored the law on the ‘protection of the Russian language’, former police colonel and deputy commander of the Berkut special forces, Serhiy Kusyuk, and former head of the public security police in Kyiv, Petro Fedchuk. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
‘For supporting the public prosecution, the prosecutors of the Prosecutor General’s Office sentenced a member of the Parliament of Ukraine of the VI convocation from the Party of Regions and the former chief of the public security police and deputy commander of the Kyiv Berkut to 5 years in prison. Theformer law enforcement officers were also stripped of their special rank of ‘police colonel’, the press service of the Ministry said.
The names of the convicts have not been disclosed, but, according to Ukrainska Pravda, they are Kolesnichenko, Kusyuk and Fedchuk. The charges include abuse of power, actions that led to violence, incitement to ethnic hatred and humiliation.
The investigation proved that in April 2010, Kolesnichenko organised an exhibition in Kyiv entitled ‘Volyn Massacre – Polish and Jewish Victims of the OUN-UPA’, aimed at inciting ethnic hatred. During the exhibition, when visitors expressed their dissatisfaction, the former MP called on the police to use physical violence against them, insulting their feelings and ideological beliefs.
At Kolesnichenko’s request, the police exceeded their authority, used violence and caused injuries to some citizens. They also unlawfully detained 13 people, accusing them of alleged administrative violations. All of the detainees were later acquitted in court.
Due to the convicts’ prolonged hiding in the aggressor state and the temporarily occupied territories, the case was considered in absentia. In addition, the ex-employees are also involved in another criminal proceeding for serious crimes committed during the 2013-2014 protests.
The trial is currently ongoing, and the pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation.
