Why are the trials in Katya Handziuk’s case still going on?
The verdict against the organizers of the fatal attack on Katya Handziuk was announced in June 2023. As expected, the accused filed an appeal. And now the Kyiv court has been holding hearings for almost a year. Read our article to find out what is happening in this important case and when the perpetrators of Kateryna’s death will finally be punished. The case is still being heard in the Kyiv Court of Appeal. What exactly is happening in the case that is important for our team and when will it finally end?
After the verdict was announced, according to which the mastermind and organizer of the attack should spend 10 years in prison, Vladislav Manger and Oleksiy Levin exercised their right to appeal. On February 5, 2024, the Kyiv Court of Appeal held the first court hearing, where the defense’s appeal was supposed to begin. However, it is now early 2025, and the case has not yet been considered even halfway.
The reason for such a lengthy trial is that Manger and Levin’s lawyers have resorted to the practice of delaying the trial, throwing numerous additions and amendments to their six appeals at the court of appeal, requests to interrogate a large number of questionable witnesses and examine the materials of ordered videos under the guise of journalistic investigations that try to whitewash the reputations of the defendants in the case. By the way, while the judges were considering all these complaints and motions, the author of one of the “films” that was supposed to sow distrust in the court towards the prosecution, Serhiy Shevchuk, was himself taken to a pre-trial detention center and will be tried for treason.
All of this together takes up the time allotted by the court for consideration of the case on the merits. If you add to this the state of war and numerous air alerts, which also change the work schedule of the entire justice system, the case seems endless.
A bit of chronology:
- July 2020 – June 2023 – the trial in the court of first instance (during which the defense announced the interrogation of about 110 witnesses);
- June 26, 2023 – the announcement of the guilty verdict against the organizers, Vladislav Manger and Oleksiy Levin;
- August-September 2023 – decision on the opening of appeal proceedings on all filed appeals;
- November 14, 2023 – the first scheduled hearing in the Court of Appeal, at which one of the panel of judges recused himself from the case because he had already participated in the investigation;
- February 5, 2024 – actually the first hearing in the appeal, where they managed to consider the challenge of Manger’s lawyers to the presiding judge on far-fetched grounds, a request to release the accused outside the glass booth in the courtroom, 1 motion for evidence and an alleged supplement to the appeal of Manger’s defense.
The prosecution classified the attack on Kateryna under Part 2 of Article 122 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional grievous bodily harm committed in a manner that is particularly torturous, or committed by a group of persons, or with the intent to intimidate the victim or other persons, or for reasons of racial, national or religious intolerance, or committed to order, or that caused the victim‘s death, and is defined as a serious crime).
This means that the state has 10 years from the date of the attack to find and punish the perpetrators. This includes both the time for investigation and the time for trial in all court instances (first instance, appeal, Supreme Court). 10 years, of which more than five have already passed.
As of now, the Court of Appeal has heard the defendants, their defense lawyers, the prosecutor, and representatives of the victims – Kateryna’s family and relatives.
The next step in the case will be to consider the request of the defense of Manger and Levin to interrogate witnesses and re-examine the evidence.
At the same time, the defense is purposefully asking to interrogate at the appeal stage those witnesses who were recanted in the court of first instance, or those who have already been interrogated, or those who are in the territory not controlled by Ukraine, whose summons is even technically impossible, since Ukrpost does not send letters to the temporarily occupied territories.
There is no doubt that under the guise of a full and comprehensive review of the case, the defense is trying to delay or even “talk” the case in court, thereby leveling the guilty verdict of the first instance court, which will open the way for the perpetrators to avoid punishment.
The defense is raising the issue of re-examining the evidence in the case by the court of appeal. At the same time, all the evidence mentioned in the appeal has already been thoroughly examined by the trial during the proceedings. This removes the obligation of the appellate court to reconsider this evidence.
In the case, the Supreme Court emphasized an important principle: even the existence of a motion for re-examination of certain evidence does not require the appellate court to review the entirety of the evidence that has already been evaluated at the previous stage. Pursuant to Article 23(2) of the CPC, evidence may be considered relevant only if it has been directly examined by the court. However, if the court of first instance examined all the evidence in compliance with procedural rules and the court of appeal agreed with their assessment, re-examination on appeal becomes unnecessary.
In addition, the denial of a motion for re-examination of evidence, in the absence of reasonable grounds or doubts about its relevance, is not a violation of the criminal procedure law. Such a refusal also does not indicate incompleteness of consideration or grounds for reversal of the decision, if the arguments of the participant in the proceedings do not confirm the need for re-examination.
We would like to emphasize that in Ukraine, the Supreme Court’s opinions have the status of quasi-precedent and must be taken into account by lower courts when considering cases in court.
During the consideration of Handziuk’s case on appeal, the defense repeatedly changed its demands regarding the petition.
Currently, both defendants are asking the court to overturn the verdict and close the criminal proceedings on the grounds provided for in Article 284(1)(3) of the CPC of Ukraine (there is insufficient evidence to prove the person’s guilt in court and the possibilities of obtaining it have been exhausted).
We understand that the murder customers and their lawyers have a need to delay the case as long as possible. And in 2028, they will ask to close it due to the timing of the trial.
In our opinion, a clear and fair resolution of the case of the murder of public activist Kateryna Handziuk in a particularly brutal manner sets a precedent that emphasizes the inevitability of punishment for a crime. And this is not just about justice for Katya or her family.
While a fair trial is a manifestation of respect for the victim’s life, which was deprived of it by a group of local criminal and political elements, the victim’s relatives and friends deserve to be guaranteed justice by the state.
But we shouldn’t forget that this case has become a model, and fair punishment for the customers should save the lives and health of many generations of civic activists across the country.
The first punishment for the instigators of a political assassination in the history of independent Ukraine should discourage local criminal and political circles from killing and maiming those who do not keep silent.
Therefore, we will continue to fight for justice in the case of Katya Handziuk and will not stop until the perpetrators are punished.