Kyiv, August 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The period of detention for Senior Lieutenant Yevhen Dryzhak, a suspect in crimes committed against a resident of the village of Vradiivka (Mykolaiv region), Iryna Krashkova, has been extended until September 27, the press service of Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office reported on Wednesday, citing Deputy Regional Prosecutor Dmytro Yefymenko.
The court considered a petition lodged by an investigator of the regional prosecutor’s office to extend the period of detention for one of the suspects in crimes committed against the resident of Vradiivka.
“The prosecutor, while considering the petition, in accordance with the requirements of Clause 1, Part 1, Article 194 of the Criminal Procedure Code, proved the validity of the suspect’s guilt in committing the crimes he was charged with. In this regard, the period of his detention has been extended until September 27, 2013,” reads the statement.
As reported, on June 26, two police officers and a taxi driver are alleged to have pulled a 29-year-old woman into a car in the town of Vradiivka, Mykolaiv region, and taken her to a nearby forest, where they beat her up and raped her. The victim was hospitalized with fractures of the skull, cuts to the head and face, and multiple severe bruises.
The rape victim told the investigator that she was beaten and raped by two police officers – Lt. Dmytro Polischuk and Lt. Yevhen Dryzhak. She said a local taxi driver, Mykhailo Rabinenko, participated in the beating.
Polischuk and Rabinenko were detained on June 30.
The fact that the second policeman, Dryzhak, who supposedly had an alibi, was not immediately detained triggered protests by local residents who demanded his arrest. On July 1, they stormed the district police department demanding that the police officers involved be prosecuted.
Dryzhak was detained on July 2. On July 3, the court ruled that he be placed under two months detention as a pre-trial restriction measure.
On August 5, the charges against three suspects were changed from causing grievous bodily harm to an attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty with selfish motives, in order to conceal another crime by prior agreement of the parties.
In addition, one of the suspects is charged with carrying out an assault, another two with rape, an assault, as well as committing a number of official crimes.
