The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv has granted permission for the detention of Kherson Regional Council Chairman Vladyslav Manher, who is suspected of involvement in the murder of Kherson activist Kateryna Handziuk. Manher must appear before a judge within 36 hours, according to the ruling.

"An independent expert, who was attracted by prosecutors, found out that Manher can be transported to Kyiv in the presence of a doctor. His state of health allows this," the online resource "Who Killed Katya Handziuk," has said.

Manher's lawyer Dmytro Ilchenko said on Facebook that he plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

"The Kyiv court allowed the forced appearance of Manher in court, regardless of his state of health. Grounds for the ruling was testimony by an ambulance doctor from Odesa, who did not examine Manher…," Ilchenko said.

"Zelensky has built up problems for Ukraine with the European Court of Human Rights," the lawyer said.

The press office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) must appear before the investigating judge within 36 hours for consideration of the PGO's request to change the conditions of his pretrial detention.

The PGO decided to petition the court because of Manher's attempts to illegally influence witnesses, threatening them and their families.

As reported, on July 31, 2018 in Kherson, an unknown person doused Handziuk with acid. She was taken to a local hospital with burns, but was soon transferred to a medical facility in Kyiv. On November 4, the passed away.

The persons involved in the case are include Manher, assistant to member of parliament Ihor Pavlovsky and ex-Anti-Terrorist Operation veteran Serhiy Torbin and Oleksiy Levin (Moskalenko). They are charged under Party 3 of Article 27 (complicity) under Article 115 (premeditated murder) of Ukraine's Criminal Code.