Kherson convicts head of social services

In Kherson, a court found guilty of collaboration with a former social worker from Bilozerka, who worked in an illegally created government agency during the occupation.

According to the Kherson City Court, the verdict was announced in absentia, as the accused is hiding in the occupied territory.

According to the investigation, the woman agreed to take the position of deputy head of the occupation "Department of Labor and Social Policy" no later than July 2022. In this position, she gave instructions to subordinate employees, was involved in recruitment, accepted reports on the work performed and supervised the maintenance of documentation. She also organized the work of the institution in the absence of the head.

The court interrogated witnesses who worked in the social sphere in Bilozerka. One of them said that before the full-scale invasion, the defendant worked as a deputy head of the state aid department at the social policy department of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

According to him, in May 2022, representatives of the occupation administration began to come to the institution and offer employees cooperation. Subsequently, the woman wrote a letter of resignation and informed the management that she planned to work with the occupation authorities.

The witness also stated that she offered other employees to go to work for the structures created by the occupiers.

Another witness, an accountant who worked in an occupation institution, said that the accused was at work every day until the evacuation of employees before the de-occupation of Bilozerka. According to her, before leaving, the woman came to the department and took some documents.

According to the criminal proceedings, the convicted woman is currently in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region.

The court found her guilty under Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine(collaboration) and sentenced her to 9 years in prison. She was also banned from holding positions in state and local government for 15 years.

The verdict has not yet entered into force - the convict has the right to appeal it within 30 days of its announcement.

According to local media, the woman in question is Olga Stariuchenko, former deputy head of the Department of Labor and Social Policy in Bilozerka.

Ірина Глухова