Court of Appeal upholds conviction of Kherson resident for holding pseudo-referendum

The accused resident of the village of Sofiyivka in Kherson region, who helped the Russians hold an illegal referendum, pleaded not guilty and tried to appeal the verdict in the appellate instance.

According to the Prosecutor's Office of Kherson region, in September 2022, the accused participated in the work of the so-called "election commission" created by the occupation authorities to hold a pseudo-referendum on secession from Ukraine and the accession of the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region to Russia. The woman made door-to-door visits to private households in Sofiyivka, issued "ballots" and kept records of voters. For this, she received a "reward" in Russian rubles.

The judge of the court of first instance found the woman guilty for her actions and sentenced her to 7 years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions for 10 years and confiscation of property. The defendant filed an appeal against this decision. However, prosecutors of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office defended the sentence against the Kherson resident on appeal. And the Kherson Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the court of first instance and dismissed the appeal.

Earlier, three residents of the Kherson region who helped the Russians to hold an illegal referendum were sentenced to ten years in prison with the deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the electoral process for fifteen years.

At the same time, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa fully acquitted Aliona Talko, a resident of the village of Shyroka Balka in the Stanislavska community of Kherson district, who was accused of collaboration for her participation in the pseudo-referendum. The court found that the woman had acted under duress of the occupiers and released her from custody.

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