Court sentences head of Kherson's occupation Duma to 12 years

A collaborator who headed the so-called Kherson Regional Duma during the occupation of the region was sentenced in absentia to up to 12 years in prison with full confiscation of property. The woman voluntarily registered the pseudo-body in accordance with Russian law and signed occupation-era decisions.

This is stated in the verdict of the Kherson City Court dated October 23.

The convicted woman will also be required to pay nearly 9,500 hryvnias in costs for expert examinations. The term of the principal sentence will be counted from the moment of her actual arrest.

Investigators proved that the convicted woman knowingly collaborated with the enemy. After the occupiers established the so-called Kherson Regional Duma, she agreed to head this pseudo-body in the occupied territories. In her “position,” the woman organized the work of the pseudo-deputies, performed administrative and managerial functions, signed legal documents, and represented the entity before the occupying administration.

Since the meetings of this fake body took place on the occupied left bank of the Kherson region, the convicted woman’s activities were under the complete control of Russian supervisors.

The defendant’s guilt was fully proven through publications on the occupiers’ websites, photo and video materials, official extracts from Russian registries, as well as the findings of a facial recognition analysis.

The case was heard under special proceedings in the absence of the defendant, as she is in hiding in the temporarily occupied territory and has been placed on the wanted list. 

Юлія Калабайда