Former Ukrainian security official sentenced to 13 years for high treason

The former head of a district police department in Crimea was sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for high treason. The court also ruled to confiscate his property and deprive him of his special rank.

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.

In Ukraine, a judge handed down a verdict in absentia to the former head of the Bakhchisaray district department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. He was found guilty of treason under Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the man is a citizen of Ukraine and since 2013 held a senior position in the internal affairs bodies in Bakhchisaray district. After the occupation of Crimea, he did not remain faithful to his oath and joined the Russian occupation structures.

Subsequently, he became the head of the so-called "Department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the city of Yalta," actually joining the formation of illegal law enforcement agencies in the temporarily occupied territory. The investigation established that by such actions he contributed to subversive activities against Ukraine and strengthening the occupation regime.

In total, according to the autonomy's prosecutor's office, 80 former employees of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs from Crimea have already been prosecuted for treason.

The name of the convicted is not officially disclosed. However, according to the Center for Investigative Journalism, it is Dmytro Verbytskyi.

According to the Myrotvorets resource, he is a "traitor and accomplice of the Russian occupiers" who holds the position of head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Yalta with the rank of police colonel. Prior to the occupation, he served in the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. According to the published data, his date of birth is November 28, 1977, and his place of birth is Simferopol.

The court sentenced him to 13 years in prison with confiscation of property. In addition, the convict was deprived of his special rank of "lieutenant colonel of police".

Also in April, three former prosecutors from Crimea were put on trial for treason after serving the occupation authorities in Sevastopol. They had been working for the Russian "justice" system for years and actually strengthened the aggressor's control over the peninsula.

Анна Бальчінос