Two pensioners from Donbass were given 9 years in prison based on testimony extracted by the SBU under torture
In Ukraine, two pensioners from the city of Dimitrov, Donetsk region, were sentenced to 9 years in prison, accusing them of participating in a terrorist organization based on testimony extracted by SBU officers under torture of witnesses.
The verdict was drawn up in a legally illiterate manner, with factual and even grammatical errors.
Приговор Dimitrovsky City Court dated July 13, 2016 indicates a violation by Ukraine of the Minsk agreements; about the use of torture by SBU officers; about fabrication of criminal cases.
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The city of Dimitrov is located seventy kilometers from Donetsk. Two residents of this town from the end of March to April 26, 2015, in private telephone conversations with their friend, who, as they later learned, served in the Kalmius unit of the DPR, several times shared what they had seen: they talked about moving around the city of Dimitrov heavy weapons that hit targets at a distance of 40 to 120 kilometers.
From Dimitrov it was possible to calmly destroy Donetsk. Excited friends shared what they saw with their friend. And at this time, SBU employees, without a decision from the investigating judge, in violation of the law “On counterintelligence activities”, “On covert operational investigative activities”, wiretapped the phone.
As evidence in court, reports were presented about the movement of an entire column of armored vehicles heading towards Donetsk, accompanied by two vehicles with OSCE symbols.
Based on the materials of the counterintelligence case (which had not been declassified at the time of the trial, as required by law), at the end of April 2015, a wave of arrests and searches of civilians swept through the city of Dimitrov. Among them, two elderly friends were captured, one of them was disabled. A criminal case was opened against them.
An interview with witnesses - neighbors of the arrested pensioners - showed that during the search, SBU officers planted drugs, explosives, grenades, ammunition and RPGs in the suspects' homes.
The detainees, among whom were witnesses in this case, told the court about the use of not only moral pressure by SBU officers, but also torture.
Thus, one of the witnesses testified that during interrogations they broke his ribs and forced him to sign a confession to something he did not do. Realizing that he could not prove anything, in order to be released, he was forced to sign an agreement with the prosecutor to admit his guilt, according to which a review of his case becomes impossible.
In addition, SBU officers, working as real punitive officers, put pressure on the minor nephew of one of the defendants, trying to force him to incriminate his uncle. The child stated this to the court in the presence of the teacher.
Despite such clear evidence of the crimes of SBU investigators, a panel of judges Klepka L.I. and Petunina I.V. presided over by judge T.O. Kovalenko did not consider it necessary to make an additional decision regarding the facts stated in court.
The accused, two pensioners, showed a miner's character and did not succumb to the persuasion of the punitive investigators to sign a plea agreement, and thereby help hide the illegal actions of the SBU investigators.
For this they were sentenced to nine years in prison. And if they had signed the agreement, they would already be free and live out their lives peacefully, and the “investigators” of the SBU would receive a reward from the state of Ukraine, and everyone would be fine.
The conscience of the accused did not allow them to come to terms with the injustice, and, moreover, they did not want to incriminate themselves. It is no coincidence that Hitler once gave an order - do not take the miners prisoner! They did not cooperate with the occupiers.
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