They want to replay the Markiv case on appeal: Ukraine has hired one of the largest Italian law firms
To defend Ukrainian National Guard photojournalist Vitaly Markiv, sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder, in the appeal court, the Ukrainian side hired one of the largest Italian law firms; they also plan to appeal to the European Court, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This was stated by Andrey Antonishchak, coordinator of the Kulchytsky National Guard battalion.
“An appeal is being prepared by Della Valle (Lawyer Markiv, Raffaelle Della Valle - ed.), an appeal is being prepared. A completely different law firm in Italy, one of the most powerful, was hired by the Ukrainian side, and an appeal will be prepared,” Antonishchak said.
At the same time, he clarified that he does not know for sure how many appeals there will be, since he has not yet seen the motivational part of the National Guardsman’s sentence.
He noted that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky first raised the issue of sentencing National Guardsman Markiv at a high level when he was in New York and met with the Prime Minister of Italy.
“You ask, what are the chances of Markiv’s release? I think 100%. We will definitely not leave our brother-in-arms in trouble, I’m talking about veterans, active soldiers of the Kulchitsky battalion. Definitely, Arsen Avakov is now dealing with this issue quite powerfully, and the new leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been included. We will definitely appeal to the European Court and file an appeal. I hope that the court of appeal - no longer the court of Pavia - but the judge or judges who will hear the appeal will see the real picture of what happened. It is already a matter of honor for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard and the state of Ukraine to protect their citizen, their patriot. We hope that Sergeant Markiv will be with us soon,” assures Kulchitsky’s battalion coordinator.
Let us remind you that for two years, 29-year-old National Guardsman Vitaly Markiv, with dual citizenship of Ukraine and Italy, has been in custody in a prison in Italy. On June 30, 2017, Italian law enforcement officers arrested him at Bologna airport when he and his wife came on vacation to visit their mother - she lives in the Marche region.
Ukraine denies the involvement of a National Guard soldier in the death of Italian reporter Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian translator Andrei Mironov, who died on May 24, 2014 near Slavyansk.
Yesterday, a jury in the Italian city of Pavia published the motivational part of the sentence of National Guardsman Vitaly Markiv, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has already announced that it will help appeal the decision in the Markiv case.
Let us add that the far right is organizing a march in support of Markiv under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 14, the day of the UPA.
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