Kherson lawyer sentenced for working for the occupation judicial commission

The Kherson City Court found 60-year-old lawyer Tetiana Mitrofanova guilty of aiding the enemy. In the spring of 2022, she headed the legal department of the occupation administration of the Kherson region and participated in the work of an illegal commission that substituted the court and performed punitive functions.

This became known from the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

According to the investigation, this commission participated in the extension of the terms of detention of persons held in a pre-trial detention center during the occupation, recognized sentences that had not entered into force as having entered into force, changed preventive measures, sent people to serve their sentences and released some people early.

The court convicted Mitrofanova in absentia under Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code - aiding the enemy. The verdict provides for 12 years in prison and confiscation of property: a third of a 56.7-square-meter apartment and a share in the authorized capital of the private enterprise 'Capital Law Firm'.

In Kherson, the head of the occupation police faces life in prison for torturing residents. The investigation found that in March 2022, Sinitsyn arrived in Kherson as part of the 'temporary task force No. 8' to organize mass repression against members of the Ukrainian resistance movement. He coordinated the 'Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs' created by the occupiers, personally approved personnel appointments and led raids on the homes of local residents.

During these raids, people were kidnapped and taken to torture chambers set up in the premises of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs. There, the victims were beaten, tortured with electric shocks, mock executions, and their families were threatened.

In addition, Sinitsyn tried to recruit former officials and law enforcement officers to his own agent networks. Based on the evidence collected, the court found him guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: encroachment on territorial integrity and war crimes. The SBU continues to work to bring the offender to justice.

Катерина Глушко