Two men organized a pseudo-referendum during the occupation of Kherson

A Ukrainian court has found guilty of collaboration and sentenced in absentia two men who took an active part in organizing and holding an illegal Russian referendum during the occupation of Kherson.

This was reported on the website of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the agency, the convicts were residents of Kherson and Donetsk regions. Both were sentenced to 9 years in prison with confiscation of property.

In September 2022, one of the convicts took the position of the so-called chairman of the precinct election commission (PEC), while the other became its "representative" in the Suvorov district of Kherson.

Law enforcement officers found that the "PEC chairman" formed the composition of the "commission", organized the work, arranged the place for the pseudo-referendum, compiled lists and was responsible for the safety of ballots. The "DEC representative" received citizens, issued ballots, checked voters and agitated Kherson residents to "vote for joining the Russian Federation."

In addition, the court convicted another collaborator, a resident of the village of Odradokamyanka, Vadym Panchenko. He voluntarily took the illegal position of the head of the seized village council. For this crime, Panchenko was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Earlier, a court clerk from Kherson region was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for participating in a trial against Ukrainians. The occupiers accused the residents of the region of stealing, although in fact they were protecting the property of the Pension Fund.

Halyna Tsyba, 38, a former senior secretary of the Genichesk District Court of Kherson Oblast, joined the pseudo-court created by the Russian occupiers in 2023. She helped the occupation administration persecute Ukrainians and participated in fake hearings against Serhiy Barchuk, deputy head of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kherson region, and four other people abducted by the Russians.

According to the investigation, until March 2023, she worked as a senior secretary at the Ukrainian Genichesk District Court. In July 2023, she participated in the hearings of a pseudo-court in the so-called criminal case against an employee of the Pension Fund, whom the occupiers accused of stealing property. Later, she was also present during the consideration of the extension of the "preventive measure" for two defendants in this fabricated case.

Катерина Глушко