Cases of attacks on journalists closed in Odesa: some of the defendants avoided sentences

In Odesa, a number of criminal proceedings regarding the events of February 19, 2014, near the building of the Odesa Regional State Administration were effectively closed. Some of the defendants escaped punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, while two others received suspended sentences.

The prosecutor's office informed Intent about the progress of the cases.

The prosecutor's office noted that in 2024, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa ruled to close criminal proceedings against the three defendants on non-rehabilitating grounds.

The prosecutor's office emphasized that they had taken the necessary measures to conduct a comprehensive, complete and objective investigation of the circumstances and prove the guilt of the individuals. At the same time, the consideration of the cases was delayed due to a number of procedural circumstances, including judges' recusal and repeated postponements of hearings. As a result, by the time the final decision was made, the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution had expired.

In particular, we are talking about Oleksandr Orlov, the former first deputy head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, who served as the secretary of the Tairova village council. The director of one of the sanatoriums was also released from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

According to the court decisions, one of the participants in the events received a one-year suspended sentence, and another received a three-year suspended sentence.

The events under investigation took place on February 19, 2014. In the morning, a group of people learned about a rally planned by supporters of the Euromaidan movement and the Odesa regional organization of the Democratic Alliance party under the slogan "Don't shoot!". The rally was planned to be held in support of Euromaidan participants, demanding that the authorities respond to the socio-political situation and provide explanations from the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.

According to the case file, about 200 attackers arrived at the rally site and attacked the participants. The protesters stopped the rally, but some of them, along with journalists who were trying to find protection in the RSA building, were forced to go up to the porch of the main entrance.

The attackers inflicted numerous blows with wooden bats, truncheons, metal rods and rebar, as well as punches and kicks. In addition to beating people, the journalists' equipment and activists' vehicles were damaged. In fact, it was a case of mass riots and pogrom.

Witnesses in court noted that the doors of the RSA building were locked and barricaded, so people could not hide inside. The new defendant in this case is a former deputy of the Odesa City Council, Oleksandr Orlov, who in February 2014 served as deputy head of the Odesa Regional Administration. At that time, Mykola Skoryk was the head of the regional administration . Orlov was accused of organizing mass riots and unlawfully obstructing a rally, committed by a group of people by prior conspiracy.

The prosecutor's office asked the court to find Orlow guilty and sentence him to six years in prison. According to the prosecution, his guilt was confirmed by the testimony of victims and witnesses, video recordings of the events and data from telephone connections. However, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the court closed the proceedings.

Thus, more than a decade after the events near the Odesa Regional State Administration, some of the defendants escaped real punishment, and the cases against the key defendants ended without substantive verdicts.

In 2024, Intent wrote that on February 19, exactly 10 years had passed since men armed with batons attacked activists and journalists during the "Don't Shoot!" rally near the Odesa Regional State Administration. The cameraman of the Nova Odesa TV company had his head smashed in, the cameraman of Inter TV broke his finger, and the cameramen of Novy and Channel 5, ICTV and a photojournalist of Komsomolskaya Pravda were beaten with iron rods.

Анна Бальчінос