Ex-head of Kherson region's village community sentenced to life imprisonment

The court found Serhiy Belik, former head of the Lazurne village community in Kherson region, guilty in absentia of collaboration and high treason. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment with confiscation of all property.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

According to the investigation, in the spring of 2022, Belik voluntarily headed the occupation administration of Lazurne and cooperated with the Russian military. He participated in meetings of the occupation authorities, facilitated propaganda activities, organized work at checkpoints, and initiated the dismantling of Ukrainian monuments.

According to the investigation and witnesses, the former official passed information about community members, including ATO and JFO veterans, to the occupiers, after which people were abducted, tortured and robbed. He also provided accommodation for the Russian military in a boarding house, where a torture chamber was later set up, and facilitated the export of grain from a local farmer.

In addition, the court found that on May 9, 2022, the former official, together with the Russian military, participated in propaganda events for Victory Day and made anti-Ukrainian speeches.

The court found Serhiy Belik guilty under Part 5 of Article 111-1 and Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition to life imprisonment, the court ruled to confiscate four of his land plots with a total area of almost 1.35 hectares and to recover almost 22 thousand hryvnias in court costs. After serving his sentence, he will be banned from holding positions in government and local government for 15 years.

Previously, he was twice elected head of the Lazurne community and was a member of the political team of former Kherson Regional Council Chairman Vladyslav Manger, who was found guilty by the court of first instance of organizing the murder of Kherson official and civic activist Kateryna Handziuk.

At the same time, Ilya Karamalikov, a deputy of the Kherson City Council who was detained in the spring of 2022, was released from the Kryvyi Rih pre-trial detention center. He was released on bail of over UAH 900,000.

Анна Бальчінос