Investigation into Maidan shootings completed

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Майдан Беркут

A pre-trial investigation has been completed against ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and nine former high-ranking officials who, on February 18-20, 2014, organized forceful opposition to protesters in the center of the capital. This was announced on Wednesday, November 17, by the Office of the Attorney General.

“Since former high-ranking officials have been hiding from the investigation and the court since 2014, the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings was carried out according to a special (in absentia) procedure,” the message says.

According to the supervisory authority, the defense was informed about the completion of the investigation and the provision of access to the materials of the pre-trial investigation.

After acquainting the defense lawyers with the case materials, the indictment will be sent to the court to decide the issue of considering the case in absentia.

The investigation established that the ex-president, the former head of the Security Service, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kiev and their deputies, the commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the commander of the capital’s special police regiment Berkut wanted to stop the mass protests, which endangered the ex-president’s stay in power.

Exceeding authority and official powers and without legal grounds, they organized the use of physical violence, special means, military equipment, firearms by law enforcement officers and military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to counter and disperse demonstrators by force.

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, members of the criminal group led by the ex-president on the morning of February 18, 2014, organized a violent dispersal of the participants in a street march to the Verkhovna Rada in support of the vote for the return to the 2004 Constitution, which provided for the limitation of the powers of the President of Ukraine.

“In addition, on the afternoon of February 18, 2014, an assault on the Maidan was organized under the guise of an“ anti-terrorist operation ”. And on the morning of February 20 – the shooting of the protesters by the staff of the “black company” of the Berkut and the arming of the “aunts” with firearms, “the report says.

The Office of the Prosecutor General added that the actions of the former president and ex-heads of law enforcement agencies led to mass casualties among the protesters in the central part of Kiev, including the death of 67 civilians.

In total, 887 civilians and 132 law enforcement officers were injured, property damage was also inflicted in the amount of more than UAH 16 million.

“The suspects were charged with organizing the commission from 18 to 20 February 2014 as part of a criminal group of illegal obstruction of meetings, rallies, campaigns and demonstrations, abuse of power and official powers by law enforcement officials, premeditated murders and attempted murders, as well as organizing a terrorist act (part .3 Article 28, Article 340; Part 3 Article 28, Part 3 Article 27, Part 3 Article 365; Part 3 Article 28, Part 3 Article 27 1, 5, 12 h . 2 of Article 115, Part 3 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 15, Clauses 1, 5, 12 Part 2 115, Part 3 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 121, part 3 of article 28, part 3 of article 27, part 3 of article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)”, – said in the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Within the framework of criminal proceedings, more than a thousand episodes of criminal acts have been investigated. The production materials contain more than 1,500 volumes.

Prosecutors and investigators conducted over 4500 interrogations of witnesses and victims, over 1000 investigative experiments, over 2000 examinations of the scene of events, documents, video recordings, over 3500 forensic, ballistic, complex, cytological, chemical examinations.

Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings was carried out by investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation.