Three of the four men who attacked two journalists at a political rally in May received suspended sentences on Sept. 2 after pleading guilty and reaching a reconciliatory agreement with their victims last week. Their plea sets a precedent in Ukraine since they were convicted in part for obstructing the work of journalists, an article of the criminal code that is typically ignored by the police.
The attackers
who plead guilty will have a criminal record as a result of the reconciliation agreement, and will have to pay
financial compensation to Vlad Sodel, a Kommersant newspaper photographer, and his wife Olha Snitsarchuk, a Channel 5 journalist, whom they attacked on May 18 at a
political rally organized by the opposition.
On Sept. 2, the Shevchenko District Court in Kyiv
approved the conditions of the reconciliation agreement, according to
Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Vadym Titushko, the most prominently visible of the four
thugs who attacked journalists, received a three-year suspended sentence, while
two others, Serhiy Pryhodko and Mykhialo Pshuk, received two years.
The fourth alleged attacker of journalists, Andriy Yaroshenko, refused to acknowledge his guilt and sign the reconciliation agreement with journalists. He maintains he is not guilty for assaulting them.
On her Facebook page, Snitsarchuk explained on Aug. 30
that under the conditions of the
reconciliation agreement, the
three defendants have acknowledged their guilt on two counts, hooliganism and
obstructing the professional activities of journalists.
“This is a civilized solution to an uncivilized
situation. This agreement saves time for you and us, we sort of did a speed
course,” Snitsarchuk said.
Moreover, the attackers have agreed to pay compensation
to their victims. Snitsarchuk will get Hr 707 from the attackers to compensate
for material damage, while Sodel will get Hr 1,613 of material compensation.
Also, Titushko agreed to pay Hr 11,000 to each of the
journalists for moral damages, while two others were ordered to pay Hr 4,000
each.
Sodel and Snitsarchuk were caught in the middle of a
scuffle the guilty had instigated during a political rally. They threw
water-filled bottles and rocks into the crowd, which caused a number of
injuries.
The incident took place in front of the Kyiv city
police headquarters, and before the eyes of police officers, who ignored it. An
internal investigation of the incident led to fines and dismissals within
police ranks for failure to react to violence.
The attackers of the journalists were identified by
other journalists, who also discovered that Titushko and his colleagues were
professional athletes often hired by the Party of Regions as bodyguards for
rallies, or even as attackers of opponents. Both the Party of Regions and the
men denied these allegations.
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be
reached at [email protected].
