MP Friz demands all charges against border guard Kolmohorov be dropped, his judges be screened for ties with terrorists

Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) faction MP Iryna Friz urges the Security Service of Ukraine to screen certain judges of the Prymorskyi district court of Mariupol for possible ties to terrorist organizations and separatists after they have sentenced border guard Serhii Kolmogorov to 13 years in prison for fulfilling his duty. She also called to overturn Kolmohorov’s conviction.

The lawmaker wrote on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.

Friz recalled that Kolmohorov , a member of 79th border detachment, was charged with the use of lethal force in September 2014. Fulfilling the order, the serviceman employed a firearm to stop the car trying to cross a checkpoint. A female passenger of the car was killed as a result of his actions. On Nov. 15, 2016, the Prymorskyi district court of Mariupol, the Donetsk region, found him guilty of committing a crime and sentenced him to 13-year imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold positions in law enforcement agencies for 3 years. He was also deprived of the military rank. Meanwhile, the car driver who refused to comply with the lawful order of the border guard during active hostilities that were taking place in the region fled to the Russian Federation.

The lawmaker believes the decision taken by the court seems to be unfair showing blatant disregard to the circumstances of the case. It jeopardizes the national security interests and can be used to the benefit of the aggressor state and terrorist organizations. Mariupol law enforcement officials told the MP that the Prymorskyi district court systematically acquitted persons suspected or charged with separatism and aiding terrorist organizations.

"I am convinced that the situation requires not only revision of Kolmohorov's case and dropping all charges against him but also screening the judges who delivered the verdict," she wrote. Friz urged the SBU to check the judges involved in Kolmohorov's case for possible ties to terrorist organizations and separatists as well as scrutinize all their decisions made from the beginning of the hostilities in the Donbas.