Expert Artur Prykhno believes that the punishment of collaborators almost always depends on one thing – deprivation of the right to serve in state bodies for 10 years, sometimes with additional sanctions, such as seizure of property. But sometimes people take a real sentence.
Hundreds of collaborative cases are currently pending in the courts. Suspicion falls on anyone who cooperates in one way or another with the occupation authorities – not only those appointed to administrative positions, but also teachers, sellers and farmers. And in time, such cases will increase as the occupation continues and unless the law makes it clear who can be deemed to have agreed to cooperate with the enemy. He says in a comment. Focus for material “A request for punishment. Accepting who and what as collaborators – first experience in the courts”, said Artur Prikhno, journalist from the human rights organization Media Initiative for Human Rights, which monitors conflict-related court hearings.
Prikhno draws attention to at least two problems.
Firstly, we can talk about the immeasurability of punishment: almost always the punishment is reduced to one thing – deprivation of the right to serve in state bodies for 10 years, sometimes with additional sanctions, such as confiscation of property. But sometimes people take a real sentence.
“There are cases where people who commit a crime that, visually, with less serious consequences for the state, receive heavier sentences than those who openly go to work in the occupation administrations there,” Artur says.
Secondly, it is difficult to understand what kind of activities people will be prosecuted for under this article – it is not clearly stated in the legislation. Numerous industries are proving that residents of the occupied territories clearly do not understand what cooperation is. Occupied people fail to understand what is expressly prohibited in the occupation to avoid arrest and conviction.
Read more in the article Focus “Criminal request. Who and what to count as collaborator – first experience in the courts.”
On March 3, 2022, the parliament introduced penalties for collaboration. Then the Verkhovna Rada amended the Criminal Code of Ukraine – Article 111 was supplemented with two parts – “cooperative activity” (Article 111-1) and “aid to the aggressor state” (Article 111-2).
Previously, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, reported that in 2022 he investigated more than 2.6 thousand criminal cases against collaborators. More than 300 of them have been brought to court.
Source: Focus
Bridger is a political journalist at 24 News Breaker, covering the Politics section with over 5 years of experience. Known for their detail-oriented reporting, Bridger delivers insightful and engaging analysis on political issues.