34-year-old Serhiy Bielik, head of the Lazurne settlement hromada of Skadovsk district of Kherson region, has been found guilty of collaborationist activity and treason. He was the first gauleiter of the resort village Lazurne, helped Russian occupiers kidnap, torture and rob residents of the hromada. On January 14 the panel of the Kherson City Court in absentia handed down a sentence – life imprisonment with confiscation of all property.
The Center for Journalistic Investigations reports this, citing the court verdict.
The court established that Bielik Serhiy Yakovych, born February 25, 1991, a native and resident of the settlement of Lazurne in Kherson region, voluntarily headed the local occupation administration in spring 2022. On May 18, 2022 he took part in a meeting with representatives of the occupation administration of Kherson region in the seized building of the Kherson Court of Appeal.
“Bielik provided assistance to the occupiers in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine, helped carry out propaganda events, perform construction and installation work at occupation checkpoints, dismantled monuments to the Heavenly Hundred, etc.,” the court verdict says.
Witnesses in court recounted how Serhiy Bielik handed over local residents to the Russians, who were then robbed, kidnapped and tortured.
“Once I was warned that Russians were coming to my house and I managed to leave. Ten minutes later Bielik called me and asked where I was. Then neighbors told me they had seen Bielik near my house together with about fifty Russian soldiers. They smashed the windows (in the house – ed.), carried out a search, seized personal belongings, documents, weapons and ammunition. Later Serhiy Bielik called me a “traitor” and demonstratively “gave” my house and another house to some people. Then my mother went to Bielik to ask about the house from which she had been expelled. He told her that “Russia is here forever”,” the witness said in court.
According to the witness, Serhiy Bielik housed the occupiers in the “Chaika” guesthouse, where they were fed and provided with everything necessary. In the same guesthouse the Russians set up a torture chamber. Bielik provided them with a list of all local residents who had served in the ATO and the JFO, and personally showed where they lived. With the assistance of the settlement head, the Russians kidnapped and tortured these people. He also ordered grain to be collected from the field of a local farmer and taken away for sale.
“On May 9, 2022 Serhiy Bielik, together with Russian military personnel, marched in a parade in honor of “Victory Day” and spoke on stage with a propagandistic anti-Ukrainian speech,” another witness told the court.
The court found Serhiy Bielik guilty of collaborationist activity under Part 5 of Article 111‑1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and of treason under Part 2 of Article 111. The in absentia sentence is life imprisonment with confiscation of all property. Four plots of land totaling almost 1.35 hectares will be confiscated from him. He must also pay the state almost 22 thousand hryvnias for the expert examination.
After serving the main sentence Bielik is prohibited for 15 years from holding positions in government bodies, public administration, local self-government and bodies that provide public services.
Recall that earlier Serhiy Bielik was notified of suspicion of treason. The MOST publication also reported about Bielik himself.