The case was sent for a new trial.
The Kiev Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of the former Berkut member0. The case was sent for a new trial.
This was reported by the Lawyer Advisory Group.
It is noted that the deadline for criminal prosecution in this case expired at the end of 2023. Therefore, it is unlikely that Marchuk will be brought to justice.
During the Maidan, Marchuk was the deputy commander of the 1st platoon of the 3rd company of the Kyiv Berkut.
According to the investigation, he, along with another Berkut member, approached journalist Maria Lebedeva, who was recording the consequences of the crackdown on her phone, while holding a journalist’s ID in her hand. But he demanded to stop the video recording, and then grabbed her hand, which had a mobile phone in it, and tried to knock it out. Then he began to push her and kicked her. Also victims in the case were Elizaveta Zharikova, Lyubomira Kepler, Tatyana Kuemzhi, Sergei Melnichenko and Dmitry Fortunatov (passed away in 2018).
On July 12, 2023, judge of the Shevchenko Court Andrey Trubnikov found Marchuk guilty of abuse of power and official authority associated with the use of violence (Part 2 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code), intentional obstruction of the legitimate professional activity of a journalist (Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code), and illegal obstruction of peaceful assemblies (Article 340 of the Criminal Code).
And he gave Marchuk a suspended sentence of 5 years in prison with a probationary period of 2 years. And he was deprived of the right to hold positions in law enforcement agencies for a period of 2 years.
The “November 30” case: how Berkut is being judged
The court imposed punishment only for abuse of power. For the other two articles, at the time of sentencing, the deadlines for prosecution had expired.
“It was this sentence that was overturned by the court of appeal today. But it is unlikely that a new trial in the court of first instance will lead to a new verdict. On the 10th “The anniversary of the dispersal of the Maidan – 30.11.23 – the statute of limitations for bringing to justice under the most serious article in this case has expired. This means that in the court of first instance Marchuk can file a petition to close the criminal proceedings. He will not be acquitted, but the accused will no longer bear responsibility.” , – commented in the Advocate Advisory Group.
