18:43 04.03.2015

Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office suspects Kharkiv mayor of threats of murder, torture, abduction

2 min read
Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office suspects Kharkiv mayor of threats of murder, torture, abduction

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has notified mayor of Kharkiv Hennadiy Kernes of its suspicions.

"Investigators from the Prosecutor General's Office on March 2, 2015 notified Hennadiy Kernes that he is suspected of committing crimes stipulated by Parts 2 and 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 146 (illegal restriction of freedom or abduction), Parts 2 and 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 127 (torture), Parts 2 and 3 of Article 27, Part 1 of Article 129 (threat of murder) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and announced the completion of the pre-trial investigation," the press service of the office announced on Wednesday.

By March 4, Kernes and the plaintiffs had examined the materials of the criminal case.

"Presently the defense is examining the findings of the investigation after which the materials of the criminal case together with the indictment will be submitted to the Supreme Special Court of Ukraine for the determination of jurisdiction," the Prosecutor General's Office noted.

As reported, on February 27, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin announced that Kernes would be notified of suspicions of involvement in several criminal offences. "He is suspected of torture. This article [of the criminal code] entails punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of five to 10 years. He committed the crime together with his bodyguard who has already been notified as a suspect," Shokin said in an interview with Channel Five last Friday.

On January 25, 2014 unidentified individuals attacked participants in a demonstration in support of Euromaidan in Kharkiv. The same day a deputy of the Kharkiv regional council Ivan Varchenko (Batkivschyna) reported the kidnapping of two Euromaidan activists – Oleksandr Kutianin and Oleksiy Riapolov "after they removed the license plates of cars near National hotel that belonged to Kernes' friends". Later, the PR department of the Kharkiv Region Department of the Interior Ministry announced that there was no confirmation of the information about the abduction of two Euromaidan activists.

On March 13, 2014 Kernes was summoned to General Prosecutor Office for questioning as a suspect.

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