A Russian judge found the “Kherson nine” guilty of allegedly preparing to eliminate collaborator officials.
This was reported by the Media Initiative for Human Rights.
On January 30 at the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, verdicts were announced for eight Ukrainians detained during the occupation of Kherson. One of the defendants — Vasyl Stetsenko — died due to torture that was applied to the men, including in the basement of the former National Police administration in Kherson.
Entrepreneur and Red Cross volunteer Yurii Kaiov was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Former Armed Forces servicemen Denys Lyalka and Serhii Kovalsky, as well as head of fishing production Serhii Heidt and manager Serhii Ofitserov, received 17 years each.
18 years were given to former Kherson city council employee Oleh Bohdanov and to the head of the customs post “Kherson-port”, Yurii Tavozhniansky.
Kostyantyn Reznik and Serhii Kabakov were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
During the announcement of the sentences in court a “classified” witness “Ivanov” testified, whom the Kherson residents recognized as the security officer with the call-sign “Khmuryi”, who tortured them and was involved in the killing of Stetsenko. The relatives of the convicted told the Media Initiative for Human Rights, the post says.
“Kherson nine” – a group of Ukrainians whom Russian forces kidnapped in July-August 2022, and later declared participants in a “terrorist organization”, accusing them of preparing and committing an act of international terrorism. They were also accused of preparing an assassination attempt on the killed former MP Yurii Kovalov, who collaborated with the Russian occupiers.
At first the men were held in Simferopol, where the Russians did not allow prisoners out for walks, did not allow them to receive letters and parcels from relatives. The captives were interrogated daily, were barely fed and not given anything to drink, and were also threatened with weapons. Then they were transferred to Rostov-on-Don, where trials have been held since 2024.