Head of occupation university in Kherson sentenced to 12 years in prison

Khadzhybeyskyi District Court of Odesa sentenced 48-year-old Halyna Rayko to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property in absentia. The former candidate of technical sciences and head of a department at Kherson National Technical University (KNTU) was found guilty of aiding the enemy and collaboration.

This became known from the relevant court verdict .

According to the court's verdict, in July 2022, Raiko voluntarily headed the 'Kherson Technical University' illegally created by the occupiers. Witnesses said that in this position, she personally persuaded her colleagues to remain working for the Russian authorities, gave interviews to propagandists, fired those who disagreed, and even held an illegal referendum in September 2022 under military protection.

The court sentenced her to 12 years in prison, confiscation of all her property, and deprivation of the right to hold public office and engage in educational activities for 15 years. Since the sentence was passed in absentia, the convict will start serving it after her actual arrest.

Earlier, Intent wrote about how Raiko's supervisor ran a fraudulent scheme where she distributed money allocated for students with disabilities as bonuses for her 'colleagues'. Galina Raiko signed an order to pay bonuses to administrative staff totaling more than 3 million rubles. At the same time, the real needs of 68 students with disabilities were left without proper funding.

Among the recipients of the funds are heads of occupation departments and employees who do not work directly with students or support programs. The payments were explained by the support of the support center for students with disabilities.

Earlier, Raiko had already received a suspicion from the SBU. According to the investigation, this was manifested in the integration of KNTU into Russian educational standards, the seizure of the university and its closure from access by current employees. Rajko also took measures to develop a new university charter, create seals, and persuade employees to cooperate with the occupation administration.

Катерина Глушко