Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky District Court has handed down an indictment against suspects in the killing of journalist Oles Buzyna. Andriy Medvedko and Denys Polischuk have been charged and will face a jury trial on murder charges.
During the preparatory hearing on June 7 the panel of judges decided to appoint an indictment for consideration on the merits by the jury, Kyiv’s Prosecutor Office reported on June 7.
The next court hearing is scheduled for June 15, 2018.
As earlier reported, Buzyna was killed in the yard of an apartment block where he lived in Kyiv on April 16, 2015.
Two suspects in the murder – Medvedko and Polischuk – were detained on June 18. Polishchuk, a guard lieutenant of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, had taken part in Donbas war as the commander of the 54th reconnaissance battalion. Medvedko took part in Donbas war as a member of the Interior Ministry’s Kyiv-2 battalion.
Lawyer Serhiy Voichenko, representing Medvedko and Polischuk, said on June 27, 2017 that the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office had reported completing the pretrial inquiry into Buzyna’s murder.
The accused are charged pursuant to Clause 12, Part 2, Article 115 (premeditated murder) and Part 1, Article 263 (unlawful possession of firearms) of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. If convicted, the defendants could face from 10 to 15 years in jail or life imprisonment.
