Kherson investigators get access to documents in case of humanitarian aid drivers

A Mykolaiv court has granted Kherson investigators temporary access to documents at a checkpoint in the village of Terlo, Lviv region. This is related to the investigation into the smuggling of conscripts from Kherson region across the state border of Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

According to the pre-trial investigation, on December 7, 2022, the checkpoint received a letter from the head of the Our Heroes Charitable Foundation with a request to facilitate the departure of volunteer drivers to transport humanitarian supplies for civilians and the military. After that, it turned out that some of these people did not return to Ukraine.

According to the rules for crossing the state border, the decision to allow Ukrainians to leave the country is made by regional military administrations based on substantiated requests from humanitarian aid organizations. To complete the investigation, the investigators needed access to letters, statements, decisions of military administrations and other documents that became the basis for the departure of the suspects through the Shlyakh system in July 2022.

The court ruled to grant the petition and ordered the officials of the checkpoint in the village of Terlo, Lviv region, to provide copies of the relevant documents. In case of non-compliance, the judge has the right to authorize a search to seize them.

In the summer, the court also granted investigators temporary access to documents and the right to conduct searches in the premises related to the activities of the charitable organizations Adzhalyk and Charitable Foundation Our Heroes. The investigation concerns a possible scheme of illegal transportation of men across the state border of Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid.

According to the investigators, the documents contained materials that may indicate the use of forged contracts and acts of acceptance of transport and humanitarian cargo. According to the criminal proceedings, the suspects allegedly formalized the departure of men of military age abroad, presenting them as drivers of humanitarian cargo.

Анна Бальчінос