Defendants Serhiy Myslyvy and Ivan Novotny, accused of the kidnapping and torture of two EuroMaidan protestors in 2014, killing one of them, have been released from a pre-trial detention center.
This was first reported by Ukrainian publication Watchers.Media in a post on their Facebook page.
Activists Ihor Lutsenko and Yuriy Verbytsky were kidnapped from a medical center on Jan. 21, 2014, just a month before the revolution prompted Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych to flee to Russia. After being taken out of Kyiv, they were tortured and left in a wooded area. Verbytsky suffered fatal injuries, his body discovered in a forest near Hnidyn near Boryspil.
Lutsenko continued his career after the revolution, later becoming a member of parliament and an advisor to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The suspects in the case remained on the run for six years before police arrested them in March 2020. Both suspects are accused of participating in a criminal organization, committing serious violent crimes, and torturing and abducting the activist. Lead suspect Myslyvy is also charged with the murder of Verbytsky, as well as incitement to forge official documents, namely a Ukrainian passport.
Despite complaints from Prosecutor General’s Office over the impending release of the torture suspects, the Bila Tserkva City District Court of the Kyiv region allowed for the suspects’ release.
Novotny was spotted by activists leaving the detention center just past midnight following the expiration of his temporary arraignment.
Murder suspect Myslyvy has appeared in Pechersk court where he received new charges from the State Bureau of Investigations and prosecutors.
The court is now deliberating on whether to order the suspect to be taken into custody for a second time.
A trial date could not be determined on Aug. 8.
