The court convicted a 49-year-old resident of the Kherson region who took a leadership position in the occupation administration and organized the holding of an illegal “referendum” on the region’s accession to Russia. The man was sentenced to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. In addition, he was deprived of the right to hold positions in the civil service and in local self-government bodies for 14 years, as well as to take part in electoral processes.
This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation established that the convicted person in July 2022 assumed the position of the so-called «head of the department of transport, communications, repair and maintenance of roads» in the occupation «administration of the Kherson community».
In September of the same year the man became «head of the precinct election commission», which operated in the territory of Kherson and prepared a pseudo-referendum on the region’s secession from Ukraine and its accession to the Russian Federation.
Within his powers the man ensured the conduct of the «voting», led other members of the precinct election commission, organized the setup of the «polling station», placement of campaigning, the issuing of ballots, the counting of «votes», and prepared and signed the protocols.
The verdict was delivered in absentia. The sentence will be served after his arrest.
Earlier we wrote that the Kherson City Court handed down a sentence to the former head of the city health department, Svitlana Mezheritska. She will spend 7 years in prison, although the prosecutor sought 10.