Court convicts woman for working in passport and visa service during Kherson occupation

Kherson City Court found a local resident guilty of collaboration during the temporary occupation of the city. She translated documents for residents who wanted to obtain Russian passports during the occupation.

This was reported by the Court Reporter.

In July 2022, the woman took up the position of "acting specialist of the passport and visa service department of the public security department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kherson region". At the same time, a propaganda video was posted on YouTube stating that an additional center had opened in Kherson where residents could receive passports of the Russian Federation.

Almost two years after the de-occupation of Kherson, in October 2024, the woman was detained. Her defense lawyer insisted on acquittal, and the accused partially admitted her guilt.

She said that in the summer of 2022, the Russian military conducted filtration measures. During the inspection, she was asked if she spoke Ukrainian and Russian, to which she replied in the affirmative. After that, she was taken to a room, given a short interview and tested for her knowledge of Russian. After that, she was informed that she could start working.

The defendant explained that she did not feel safe and needed money to survive the occupation, so she decided to work. Her duties included translating documents of citizens who applied for services, including birth and marriage certificates. She worked in this position until the end of August, claiming that at first she thought she was working in a translation agency, but only later realized that she was actually working for the occupation authority, and then decided to resign. The woman received her salary only once, at the time of her dismissal, and believes that her actions could not have caused any harm.

The court interrogated six prosecution witnesses, including former employees of the so-called "passport and visa service" and a local resident who tried to obtain a passport of a Russian citizen. One of the employees of this body reported that the defendant initially worked as a translator from Ukrainian to Russian, and later she was appointed a specialist.

A flash drive with official documents, including an order to appoint the defendant to the position, was seized from the apartment of another employee of the personnel department of the occupation Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kherson region.

The court sentenced her to 12 years in prison with an additional 10-year ban on holding public office.

The court also found 58-year-old Svitlana Mezherytska, a member of the Kherson Regional Council and former head of the health department of the Kherson City Council, guilty of collaboration. According to the investigation, in the summer of 2022, she headed the health department of the city's occupation administration, acting under a pseudonym. The SBU reports that she helped the Russian military organize hospitals in seized hospitals.

Анна Бальчінос