Court clerk participated in repressions against abducted Kherson residents

After the occupation, the former secretary of a Ukrainian court from Kherson region joined the Russians and worked in an illegal court in Henichesk. She participated in repressions against the abducted Kherson residents, for which she was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Ternopil City District Court.

According to the investigation, she assisted the invaders in persecuting people and participated in the consideration of cases against citizens abducted by the Russians, including relatives of Serhiy Barchuk, former deputy head of the Pension Fund of Kherson region.

According to media reports, Tatyana Mironenko was born on October 30, 1992, in the village of Dogmarivka, Henichesk district, and currently lives in the village of Voskresenka, Novotroitsk community, Kherson region. The court found that on July 20, 2023, she voluntarily accepted the position of assistant judge in a court illegally established by the occupiers. Prior to that, until January 2022, she worked as a courtroom secretary at the Genichesk District Court.

On July 20, 2023, Myronenko participated in determining a preventive measure in a fabricated case against a person accused by the occupiers of embezzlement on a large scale. This case concerned Lidia Podozerska, who, along with three members of her husband's family - Serhii, Oleksii and Artem Barchuk, as well as a family friend, Oleh Samotoi - was abducted by Russian troops in Kherson in July 2022.

The reason for the prosecution of the Barchuk family was that Serhii Barchuk had hidden his work computers from the occupiers. The Russians qualified this as theft and for almost 13 months held people in captivity, tortured and robbed them. Eventually, the five Kherson residents were tried and released only after paying a ransom of $5,000 each.

A witness in court recognized Myronenko from photographs. She also took part in other fabricated cases in the so-called Genichesk court. Ukrainian investigators confirmed her work there under false pretenses through phone calls.

The court found Myronenko guilty in absentia under Part 7 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property, she was banned from holding positions in the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, state and municipal enterprises and institutions providing public services for 15 years. The verdict has not yet entered into force. Myronenko is currently on the wanted list.

Also in October, Halyna Tsyba, a former senior secretary of the Genichesk District Court of Kherson Oblast, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In 2023, she sided with the occupiers and began working in a pseudo-court illegally created by the Russians, where she participated in fake hearings and helped the occupation administration prosecute Ukrainians, in particular in the case of the abducted Serhiy Barchuk.

Анна Бальчінос