16:47 07.11.2017

Border guard on duty determines himself whether to shoot or not - Kolmohorov

3 min read
Border guard on duty determines himself whether to shoot or not - Kolmohorov

KYIV. Nov 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) - A serviceman of the 79th border detachment of the Black Sea regional department of the State Border Service of Ukraine, Serhiy Kolmohorov, whose case caused outcry, has said he is convinced of the illegality of charges brought against him.

"I was ordered to stop and inspect a car. Each border guard at the State Border Service determines himself the order to shoot or not when he is on duty, according to order No. 200 [an order of October 21, 2003 on approving instructions on the use of weapons, combat technology... during the protection of the state border and the exclusive (maritime) economic zone]. All loud statements made by the prosecutor's office are cut out of whole cloth. Everything that the prosecutor's office says has no grounds," he said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency in Kyiv on Tuesday.

He said that he became a suspect in this case, because someone has a personal dislike for him.

"We will figure out this," Kolmohorov said.

The border guard said that all servicemen who are now detained and are under investigation want objective investigations and trials.

"They want to get things sorted out with their cases by law, so that there's nothing to hide and there are no falsifications. They want justice. In my case, 90% is falsification and so on," he said.

Kolmohorov said he intended to return to service after the completion of the trial on his case.

"I think that I have already had some 'rest.' I must return to the service. I will return in any case. I think it's should not even be discussed. There's no other option," he said.

As reported, in September 2014, Kolmohorov, carrying out an order, used weapons to stop a car, killing a passenger.

On November 15, 2016, the Prymorsky District Court of Mariupol found Kolmohorov guilty of committing crimes under Part 1, Article 115, Part 3, Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to 13 years in prison, depriving him of the right to hold posts of a representative of law enforcement agencies for three years and stripping him of the military rank "senior soldier."

Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of the court of first instance.

On November 6, the Higher Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases sent the Kolmohorov case for a new trial to a court of first instance and released him from custody.

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