Maidan cases: Commanders of Lviv, Kharkiv and Sevastopol Berkut are served with new suspicions for dispersing protesters on night of 19 February 2014. PHOTO
The commanders of the Berkut special police units of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Lviv, Kharkiv regions and the city of Sevastopol, as well as the assistant chief of staff of the Lviv Berkut, were served with notices of suspicion of organising illegal obstruction of protests on the night of 18-19 February 2014 in the centre of Kyiv.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, Censor.NET reports.
Thus, on the night of 19 February 2014, following a criminal order from the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to disperse protesters from Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the adjacent streets and the Trade Union Building, anti-terrorist measures were carried out in the centre of the capital under the leadership of the SSU, which had no real grounds.
"During the violent actions, Berkut officers surrounded Maidan from European Square and Instytutska Street and stormed the participants of the assembly using special equipment - APCs, Tornado water cannons, military searchlights. They also used Fort-500 firearms with lead buckshot ammunition and grenades imported from the Russian Federation. Such actions of the suspects led to the murder of 12 protesters, attempted murder of 8, causing serious bodily harm to 16, moderate harm to 37, light harm to 78, and other grave consequences," the statement said.
As noted, the issue of applying preventive measures to former law enforcement officers is currently being decided.
The commanders of the units are charged with organising by a group of persons the unlawful obstruction of meetings, rallies, street marches and demonstrations; abuse of power and authority; infliction of intentional grievous bodily harm; and organising premeditated murders and completed attempted murders. The assistant chief of staff of the Lviv Berkut was charged with aiding and abetting these crimes.
The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that to date, a number of heads of state authorities and law enforcement officers who directly organised the commission of these crimes have been brought to criminal responsibility for these events (the ATO on 18 February 2014). Among them are the former Head of the SSU, his first deputy, the Head of the ATC at the SSU, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and his deputy, the leadership of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kyiv, as well as the perpetrators from the Berkut units.
It is also noted that indictments against 19 people, including 10 high-ranking officials, are pending in courts. Pre-trial investigations against 6 people are ongoing.
