Ukraine's prosecutor general hopes attack on Judge Dyachuk will not affect trial of Maidan killings case
KYIV. Sept 15 (Interfax) - The attack on Kyiv Svyatoshinsky District Court Serhiy Dyachuk will not affect his trial of the case involving the killings on the Maidan in February 2014, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said.
"I think it should not influence the investigation, it's one of the most high-profile cases in contemporary Ukraine. I hope the judge will fulfil his professional duty," Lutsenko told reporters at the 15th YES forum organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Kyiv, responding to a question as to whether the attack on the judge investigating the Maidan killings case will affect the trial of the case.
The prosecutor general said the security of judges should be tightened, although the issue is not in his terms of reference. "To do that, I will talk to relevant officials on Monday," he said.
The press service for Ukraine's Council of Judges earlier reported an attack on Kyiv Svyatoshinsky District Court Serhiy Dyachuk near his apartment building. The judge was hospitalized after the attack.
According to the report, the judge is trying the case involving the killings of people on the Maidan on February 18-20, 2014. "The case involves 157 aggrieved persons and over 500 witnesses. Five former officials of the Kyiv Berkut regiment are in the dock. They are charged with mass killing of protesters and the commission of a terrorist attack," the Council of Judges said.
The judge links the attack to his work, saying it is indicated by the threats made to him and the statements repeating the rhetoric of the people who are unhappy with the decisions made by the judges.
The police detained the man who inflicted bodily injuries on Dyachuk. He is a car parking lot security guard, a resident of Kyiv, born in 1964.
The judge earlier said he had seen a fire near a parking lot in Simirenko Street. When he went outside, he saw that a security guard was burning rubbish. The judge told the man to stop, but he grabbed a metal bar and started hitting him on his hands and head. Witnesses to the conflict called for the ambulance and the attacker left.
The information on this incident was included in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. A criminal case was opened based on Part 4 of Article 296 (hooliganism) of the Ukrainian Criminal Code.