Euromaidan cases: Court overturns sentence of ex-Berkut member Marchuk
The Kyiv Court of Appeal overturned the guilty verdict against former Berkut officer Ruslan Marchuk. The case was sent for a new trial.
This was reported by the Lawyer Advisory Group, Censor.NET reports.
"The deadline for criminal prosecution in this case expired at the end of 2023. Therefore, it is unlikely that Marchuk will be prosecuted," she said in a statement.
During the Maidan, Ruslan Marchuk was the deputy commander of the 1st platoon of the 3rd company of the Kyiv Berkut.
According to the investigation, he and another Berkut officer approached journalist Maria Lebedeva, who was recording the aftermath of the dispersal on her phone, holding a journalist's ID. Marchuk demanded that she stop recording, and then grabbed the journalist's hand, which was holding a mobile phone, and tried to knock it out. Then he started pushing her and kicked her.
On 12 July, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv found Marchuk guilty of abuse of power and official authority involving the use of violence (Article 365(2) of the Criminal Code), intentional obstruction of the legitimate professional activity of a journalist (Article 171(1) of the Criminal Code), and unlawful obstruction of peaceful assembly (Article 340 of the Criminal Code).
He was sentenced to 5 years' suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of 2 years. Marchuk was deprived of the right to hold positions in law enforcement agencies for a period of 2 years.
The court sentenced him only for abuse of power. As for the other two articles, the terms of prosecution had expired by the time the verdict was passed.
"It is unlikely that the new trial in the court of first instance will result in a new verdict. On the 10th anniversary of the Maidan dispersal - 30 November 23 - the statute of limitations for prosecution under the most serious article in this case expired. This means that Marchuk can file a motion to close the criminal proceedings in the court of first instance. He is not acquitted, but the accused will no longer be held accountable," the post says.
