Drugs were planted on Shyrshyn: Serviceman Aliiev remanded in custody. Bail set at UAH 15 million. VIDEO+PHOTOS
The Pechersk District Court in Kyiv is determining a pre-trial measure for one of the suspects in the case involving Oleksandr Shyrshyn, a former commander of the 47th SMB, who had drugs planted on him.
This was reported by a Censor.NET correspondent.
Update
In a comment to Censor.NET, prosecutor Serhii Novikov explained why the prosecution had sought an initial bail amount of UAH 20 million for Aliiev.
"It is not only he who can post bail. Any ordinary person can do so. You can even post bail for him. In other words, we do not know what resources the people who commissioned it have. The Criminal Procedure Code stipulates a bail amount, but there is a Supreme Court ruling stating that a prosecutor may request any amount," he said.
A second hearing is currently under way. The lawyers are seeking the judge’s recusal.
Details
The suspect in question is Aliiev.
Lawyer Yulia Tkachenko believes that the presence of the media at the court hearing could prejudice the proceedings.
According to another lawyer, this case has "a certain political dimension".
The defense also states that it does not know whether everyone present in the courtroom is actually a member of the media. The defense further justifies the motion by arguing that state secrets could be disclosed during the proceedings.
In total, three attorneys are representing the suspect in court—one in person and two via video link.
The defence also petitioned to exclude media representatives from the hearing because "a serviceman, a Hero of Ukraine, wants to provide personal surety for Aliiev," and the lawyers do not want the media to disclose the serviceman’s name.
The court therefore decided to close the hearing to the media.
Measure of restraint
Investigating judge Yevhen Khainatskyi partially granted the Prosecutor General’s Office’s motion and remanded suspect Aliiev in custody until 8 November.
Bail was set at UAH 15 million. The prosecutor had sought bail of UAH 20 million.
What led up to it
- It should be recalled that the day before, the former commander of the 47th SMB, Oleksandr Shyrshyn, stated that drugs had been planted in his car.
- Subsequently, law enforcement authorities provided official information regarding the stopping of a car driven by Oleksandr Shyrshyn, the former commander of the ‘Magura’ battalion of the 47th SMB.
- Later, the acting head of the National Police, Maksym Tsutskiridze, stated that operational information from the Military Law Enforcement Service regarding the former battalion commander of the 47th Mechanised Brigade "Magura", Oleksandr Shyrshyn, would be verified. This includes how this information came to be in the possession of the Military Law Enforcement Service.
- On 9 September, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) reported the arrest of three former police officers on suspicion of planting drugs and psychotropic substances on Shyrshyn.
Background
- Earlier, Censor.NET reported that Shyrshyn, the battalion commander of the 47th SMB "Magura", had submitted a request for discharge due to the command’s "idiotic tasks".
- For his part, Yurii Butusov, Editor-in-Chief of Censor.NET, commenting on Shyrshyn’s actions, noted that the statement by Shyrshyn, commander of the 47th SMB, requires an official response from the General Staff and the command. Further actions in the Kursk region should only be planned following an after-action review.
- It was subsequently reported that, on the orders of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a working group had been set up to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances outlined in the social media post by the commander of a unit of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade.
- The working group, which investigated the situation published on social media by ‘Magura’ Shyrshyn, the battalion commander, regarding a series of ineffective decisions at the front, found Shyrshyn himself to be undisciplined.
- Subsequently, the court overturned the reprimand issued to Shyrshyn.
