Kherson journalist headed the occupiers' media and received 12 years in absentia

On February 25, the Kherson City Court sentenced a former media representative, Yevheniy Beliy, to life in prison. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison with full confiscation of property for collaborating with the occupiers.

This was reported by IMI with reference to the court decision .

The investigation proved that the convict not only acted as an editor, but built a whole system of manipulations on the basis of the seized Kherson printing house. His activities began with his appointment as editor-in-chief of the newspaper Naddnepryanska Pravda, but later the scope of his treachery expanded to managing a joint editorial office that published numerous clones of well-known regional publications.

Under his direct supervision, fake versions of the newspapers of Kakhovka, Nova Kakhovka, Hola Prystan and other settlements of the region were published, creating the illusion of mass support for the occupation regime.

An important role in exposing the criminal scheme was played by eyewitnesses who directly observed Bilyi's cooperation with the aggressor. In particular, a security guard at the printing house confirmed in court that Belyi received the position of editor through the patronage of a man in a Russian military uniform who openly introduced himself as an FSB officer and called himself the new government.

Former colleagues of the convict also testified that he personally censored content, imposing a pro-Russian angle on the presentation of information, and regularly held meetings with Russian special services officers right in his office. Based on the totality of the evidence, the court found Belyi guilty of collaboration, dissemination of materials denying armed aggression, and calls for changing the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

This resulted in a twelve-year prison sentence with full confiscation of property and a long-term ban on public service.

Катерина Глушко