Supreme Court upholds life sentence for head of Mykolaiv regional prosecutor's office Herman

The Criminal Court of Cassation as part of the Supreme Court considered the cassation appeal of the defense in the case of the former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, Hennadiy Herman, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for high treason. The sentence remains in force.

This was reported by Court Reporter.

Having considered the appeal, the court ruled:

• The cassation appeal of the defense shall be dismissed.
• The verdict of the court of first instance and the decision of the Court of Appeal, which found the former head of one of the district prosecutor's offices of Mykolaiv region guilty of treason (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced him to life imprisonment with confiscation of all property belonging to him by right of ownership, shall be upheld.

On June 28, 2023, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa found Herman guilty of high treason. The investigation established that from March to April 2022, while in Mykolaiv, he passed military information to pro-Russian blogger Yuriy Podoliaka via Telegram. He, in turn, forwarded this information to a lieutenant colonel of Russian intelligence.

The Russian agent to whom the former head of the Mykolaiv District Prosecutor 's Office, Hennadii Herman, "leaked" information was a Russian intelligence officer, Igor Bezler, known by the nickname "Bes". He was involved in the annexation of Crimea and the seizure of power in Horlivka in 2014, in the downing of the Malaysian Boeing MH-17, as well as in the abductions and murders of pro-Ukrainian residents of Donetsk region, torture and sexual violence.

The Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and life sentence. Initially, Herman admitted to correspondence with Podolyaka, explaining that he wanted "objective coverage of the situation in Ukraine." However, he later denied any contact with Podolyaka or Bezler in court, without admitting his guilt.

Сергій Лозовський