Who faced trial?
The court in Kyiv sentenced five former Berkut special police unit members who had quelled the Euromaidan protests during the winter of 2013-2014.
Sentences delivered
Yanishevskyi, the deputy regiment commander, was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for murder and lost all his ranks.
"20 February 2014 was not a peaceful protest, but the people exercising their right to revolt. It was an armed uprising against tyranny," remarked Judge Serhiy Dyachuk after the hearing.
Reactions and responses
The investigation into this case spanned almost a decade, persisting even during the full-scale Russian invasion. During this time, 320 court hearings examined 48 murder cases and 80 attempted murders. The court interrogated 245 individuals, including victims, witnesses, experts, and the accused. Nevertheless, nobody seemed content with the court's verdicts despite substantial sentences such as life imprisonment and 15 years in prison.
"In our position, we did not rely on our judgments but on the ruling of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, which is binding for application. It clearly states that if there is a group of people committing a crime, it is not so important who directly committed the murder and who committed active or even passive actions. It is sufficient that it was a group that acted in concert," the prosecutor told Suspilne.
"Only one person there was given a life sentence, although they all should get life sentences because those Berkut police officers all shot at people," said Svitlana Chaplynska.
"Yanishevskyi was found guilty of intentional murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. There are big questions for us here, and of course, we will appeal this part of the verdict. Because during the trial, we could not identify Yanishevskyi among the many people who were seen there. But the court reached a different conclusion, so we must clarify. The same goes for Abroskin and Zinchenko," said the lawyer.Meanwhile, the chief news editor of the Ukrainian news outlet Hromadske, Angelina Karyakina, pointed out that it seems like no one has faced genuine punishment.
"And now, who will be imprisoned: no one. At least not right now. Yanishevskyi, Abroskin, and Zinchenko are in Russia or temporarily occupied territories, exchanged for 76 [Ukrainan POWs] in 2019. Marinchenko is free under the Savchenko law. Yanishevskyi has already served nine years under this law, while Abroskin and Zinchenko have served 11 years each," Karyakina wrote.
Is there no silver lining?
According to Yevheniya Zakrevska, the attorney representing the families of those who died during the Euromaidan protests, a significant outcome of this case is the clear determination that there was no involvement of any third party during the events of 20 February 2014."We have disproved the existence of Georgian, American, Lithuanian, Russian, and other foreign snipers. It is deeply regrettable to acknowledge, but 48 Ukrainian citizens were killed by Ukrainian policemen themselves. Without recognizing this fact, neither police reform nor future normal interactions between law enforcement and citizens will be possible," Zakrevska stated.
"I think it wasn't just a part of the old regime that [plotted the provocation], but it was also the work of Russian special forces who served and maintained the ideology of the [old] regime," the Ukrainian than-health minister, Oleh Musiy, a doctor who helped oversee medical treatment for casualties during the protests, told the Associated Press, citing forensic evidence.
“The seemingly irrational mass shooting and killing of protesters and the police on February 20 [2014] appear to be rational from the self-interest based perspectives of rational choice and Weberian theories of instrumentally rational action”, insisted Katchanovski.However, the paper doesn't provide concrete evidence, leaving the reader to wonder about these Weberian theories. Furthermore, it takes for granted that the Ukrainian opposition exploited protesters to gain power, a conclusion that seems disconnected from the rest of the paper.
Is this the final chapter?
Despite the case's closure, Ukrainian society is left with lingering questions. A hundred unarmed protesters were shot down in broad daylight in a European capital city, but why are only four low-ranking individuals held responsible? What about those who issued the orders? In early October 2023, the State Investigation Bureau of Ukraine concluded its extensive investigation into the former state leadership's role in organizing the dispersal and shootings of demonstrators on 18-20 February 2014. Ten individuals were supposed to stand trial, including the then-President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Vitaliy Zakharchenko, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Yakymenko, the Minister of Defense, Pavlo Lebedev, and several police chiefs. According to the investigation, they were responsible for issuing orders and decisions related to law enforcement's use of firearms, military equipment, and special means to disperse demonstrators in Kyiv. The maximum penalty for these crimes is life imprisonment. However, investigators concede that some of the accused are suspected of hiding in Russia or occupied Ukrainian territories. Yanukovych fled to Russia in 2014, was stripped of his presidential title in Ukraine, and convicted in absentia for state treason, resulting in a 13-year prison sentence.
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