The suspect in ordering and organizing the murder of Kherson activist and official Yekaterina Gandzyuk, Vladislav Manger, was placed under arrest by decision of the Pechersky District Court of Kiev. This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
“The suspect was taken into custody until July 28, 2020 without the possibility of making a bail,” the Prosecutor General’s statement said.
As the agency reminded, Vladislav Manger became a suspect in the death of Gandzyuk in February 2019. However, then he remained at large, making a deposit in the amount of 2 million 497 thousand hryvnias. Later, the investigation re-qualified the article from murder to inflicting grievous bodily harm, as a result, the court allowed to reduce the amount of the pledge by half - up to 1 million 152 thousand UAH. Also, through the court, Manger was reinstated as the head of the Kherson regional council, from which he was removed for a short time.
- Head of the Kherson Regional Council Vladislav Manger
- © vlad.manger
However, witnesses in the case and their family members began to receive threats of physical harm, the prosecution received direct evidence of this. As a result, the prosecutor's office decided to petition to change the preventive measure for Manger and to take him into custody.
Justice features
According to experts, the practice in which a suspect in a serious crime was at large and held a public post is common in modern Ukraine, although it contradicts the principles of justice.
“Ukrainian judges often release obvious criminals if they have the means and connections, even if they may have motives to hide or intimidate witnesses. It is surprising that Manger was finally placed under arrest - this is an achievement for the current judicial system of Ukraine. But it is not known how the situation will develop further, since justice in Ukraine has been acting selectively since 2014, ”said Ukrainian political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak in an interview with RT.
A similar point of view is shared by the deputy director of the Institute of CIS countries Vladimir Zharikhin.
“This is already a feature of Ukrainian courts, which can calmly release bail suspects and keep innocent people such as Cyril Vyshinsky under arrest. The problem is that many cases are resolved based on political considerations, contrary to the notions of legality, ”the expert said in a commentary to RT.
According to the lawyers of the official, the head of the Kherson regional council was not involved in the murder of Yekaterina Gandzyuk, but in reality the SBU is behind the crime. In addition, the defense assures that it can provide evidence of the negligence of the doctors who were involved in the treatment of Gandzyuk.
Recall that Kherson public activist and adviser to the mayor of the city, Ekaterina Gandzyuk, was attacked on July 31, 2018 - unknown persons doused her with sulfuric acid. According to media reports, with extensive burns, the woman ended up in intensive care, later underwent a series of operations and died in early November as a result of a blood clot.
Later, the perpetrators of the attempt were detained and in April 2019 they entered into a deal with the investigation, admitting to their deeds. This was reported in the Ukrainian Prosecutor General. According to the official representative of the department (then this post was held by Andrei Lysenko), the defendants testified about their participation in the crime, as well as the participation of “other persons”.
Already in June 2019, five perpetrators of the attack on the activist were sentenced to prison terms from 3 to 6.5 years.
The investigation believes that the main motive for the ordered murder of the activist was her anti-corruption activity - during her lifetime, Gandzyuk publicly criticized the administration of the National Police of the Kherson region and the authorities.
Girlfriend of the Radicals
After the death of Gandziuk, the radicals from the National Corps party acted most actively with the demand to investigate the crime.
In February 2019, traffic participants fired on the home of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov from salute installations, chanting the slogan “Who ordered Katya Gandzyuk?” In March 2019, representatives of the same "National Corps" and the movement "Who ordered Katya Gandziuk" staged a protest rally in front of the Kherson Regional Police Department, lit fires, and written before the entrance to the department: "Killers must be seated."
- A rally demanding to investigate the Gandzyuk case
- globallookpress.com
- © Str / ZUMAPRESS.com
Recall, the National Corps party was created on the basis of the Azov Civil Corps public organization, which, in turn, was associated with the volunteer battalion of the same name, which became part of the National Guard as a separate special forces unit.
Although the party calls its goals “order, innovation, and national interests,” the organization actually advocates radical ideas and was featured in the report of the American Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor as a hate propaganda nationalist group.
Moreover, from the very beginning, nationalists were opposed to Vladimir Zelensky. In October 2019, the leader of the “National Corps” and the Azov national battalion squad, Andrei Biletsky, even posed an open threat to the president, saying that if the authorities try to push the war veterans out of Zolotoye, the radicals will send 10,000 fighters to the area. Recall that the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zolotoy district was carried out by Kiev as part of the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
“If you decide to fulfill your threats - throw out veterans from here, then next week there will be a thousand people, and if you don’t leave a thousand, there will be ten thousand,” Biletsky said, accusing the authorities of the intention to “surrender” the site front.
- Vladimir Zelensky
- Reuters
- © Sergey Dolzhenk
According to experts, the court’s decision to place the main person involved in the Gandzyuk case under arrest was dictated rather by political motives, one of which might be the authorities’ desire to smooth out contradictions with the nationalist wing of Ukrainian politics.
In particular, the country's leadership can consider this case as a lever of pressure on the permanent Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who had previously been criticized by nationalists from the National Corps in connection with the Gandzyuk case, Vladimir Zharikhin recalled.
“In this case, political motives clearly prevail over legal ones. It is known that it was the nationalists who most actively supported the investigation of the Gandzyuk case. Now the case of the customers of her murder has received a new development, in political terms, this can be seen as an attempt by the authorities to undermine Avakov’s position with such a popular step, ”Zharikhin said.
Pressure element
According to Alexander Dudchak, the case of Yekaterina Gandzyuk, along with the investigation into the murder of Pavel Sheremet and other high-profile cases, is one of the politically important processes.
“This is one of the investigations, the course of which plays an important political role for the authorities of the country and in general for the political climate in Ukraine. Therefore, the investigation of such cases is conducted not systematically, as it should be, but sporadically. Politicians use such cases for their own purposes, giving them momentum and attracting public attention at times when it is beneficial for them, ”Dudchak emphasized.
- Action in memory of activist Yekaterina Gandzyuk in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
- Reuters
- © Genya SAVILOV
We should note that earlier the lack of progress in the investigation into the organization of the murder of Kherson activists began to blame Vladimir Zelensky and public figures. During a rally in May 2020, indignant citizens called on the president to recognize the "drain" of the criminal investigation and called the situation "a nail in the political coffin" of the head of state. The protest rally took place in Kiev before the Zelensky press conference, at which the politician promised to do everything for a fair trial of Gandzyuk’s customers.
“For my cadence, the people who killed are planted. We know who ordered. Now this case has been submitted to court. And the court, I am sure, will pass a fair sentence. And customers will go to jail. The last step is the court, ”Zelensky said.
“Most likely, the change in the preventive measure to Vladislav Manger is connected with this promise of Vladimir Zelensky. And the news of the arrest is intended to show that the president fulfills promises and guarantees justice. However, the people well remember those promises that have not yet been fulfilled by the president. Therefore, if the current Ukrainian authorities expect to improve their rating through such steps, then these are vain hopes, ”said Alexander Dudchak.
A similar point of view is shared by Vladimir Zharikhin. The fact that the court took the main person involved in the Gandzyuk case into custody shortly after the corresponding promise of the head of state, speaks of the judicial system being controlled, the expert said.
“Most likely, the prosecutor’s office and the court fulfilled the wish of Vladimir Zelensky by arresting Manger. However, this looks like an element of pressure on the judiciary by the executive branch, which is against the law, even if good goals are being pursued. It is unlikely that this will have a positive effect on the image of the Ukrainian government, ”Zharikhin concluded.