The hunt for journalists in Crimea ended with 15 years in prison for a traitor

The former Ukrainian law enforcement officer was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison. Law enforcement officers proved that he deliberately sided with the aggressor, headed the occupation structures, and was personally involved in the persecution of activists and journalists in Crimea and Kherson region.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Rivne City Court.

The judge sentenced in absentia a former Ukrainian law enforcement officer who had been building a career in the aggressor's punitive system for more than a decade. The traitor has come a long way from an ordinary investigator to an influential law enforcement officer in the occupied territories. The investigation found that he voluntarily headed the occupation police departments in Krasnoperekopsk and Armyansk, and later was appointed to the strategic position of chief of the transport police in occupied Henichesk, Kherson region.

The key factor for the court was the testimony of the defendant's old acquaintances, which completely shattered the defense's version of possible coercion. One of the witnesses, who had known the traitor's family for more than twenty years, spoke about his ideological support for aggression. She confirmed that the man and his wife were among the first to receive Russian passports in the spring of 2014.

According to her, he was openly proud of his new status and career rise under the flag of the occupiers. Another witness saw the defendant in Russian uniform in the center of Simferopol back in 2016. Then the traitor directly stated that he was quite happy with life in the occupation and had consciously chosen to serve in the Russian Interior Ministry.

According to the Center for Investigative Journalism, it is Anatoliy Muravlev, who in 2013 represented the Krasnoperekopsk United State Tax Inspectorate in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in court by proxy.

The investigation paid special attention to the collaborator's activities in Armyansk, where he personally led the repression of civil society. The facts of how he personally ordered the security forces to block the work of journalists of the Crimean Solidarity publication and lawyers were recorded.

During the trials of the Crimean Tatars, he banned any filming, inventing anti-terrorist exercises to hide the reprisals against activists from the international community. His guilt was further confirmed by a portrait examination and numerous propaganda interviews, where he was presented as a "hero" of the occupation police.

The court imposed a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for a combination of crimes, including high treason and collaboration. In addition to the prison term, the verdict provides for the complete confiscation of all property belonging to the traitor and a ten-year ban on holding any public office in Ukraine.

The convict is also obliged to pay almost 12 thousand hryvnias to the state for forensic examinations. His sentence will begin from the moment he is arrested and handed over to Ukrainian justice.

In addition, in April, three former prosecutors from Crimea were put on trial for treason after serving the occupation authorities in Sevastopol. They had been working for the Russian "justice" system for years and actually strengthened the aggressor's control over the peninsula.

Анна Бальчінос