Supreme Court upholds sentence against two former officers of Berkut special police battalion

The Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court upheld the decisions of the courts of previous instances in terms of sentencing, according to which the former law enforcement officers were found guilty of abuse of power and authority (part 1 of Article 28, part 2 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (as amended by the Law of Ukraine of 7 April 2011 No. 3207-VI)). They were sentenced to three years' imprisonment and banned from holding positions in law enforcement agencies for three years.

In addition, according to court decisions, former members of the special unit were found guilty of obstructing peaceful assemblies (part 1 of Article 28, part 2 of Article 340 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and forgery (part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), but were released from serving their sentences due to the expiry of the statute of limitations. 

As established by the courts, on 30 November 2013, on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv, two commanders of the platoon of the operational division of the Berkut special police regiment ran up to a participant of a peaceful assembly who had fallen near the Independence Monument as a result of the stampede. They grabbed the victim by the arms and legs, dragged him several metres towards Instytutska Street, then, using physical force, lifted him to his feet and took him out of the Maidan Nezalezhnosti area. The detained peaceful assembly participant was then taken to the district police station, where reports on administrative detention and an administrative offence were drawn up.

The court partially upheld the victim's cassation appeal, increasing the amount of non-pecuniary damage from UAH 50,000 to UAH 400,000.

The full text of the resolution of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court will be announced on 9 December 2024 at 16:00.

The full text of the resolution of the CrimCC of the Supreme Court of 3 December 2024 in case No. 761/18548/18 (proceedings No. 51-4443 km 23) will be available in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/.