Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov has said that the case of the officer of the National Guard of Ukraine, Vitaliy Markiv, is in the focus of attention of a Ukrainian delegation, which is holding a working visit to Italy.
“I believe that diplomats and lawyers will find ways to settle this issue so that our guardsman can return home. We will not abandon our soldier!” the press service of the Interior Ministry quoted Avakov as saying on Feb. 8.
As reported, during a meeting in Rome on Feb. 7, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte the case of the officer of the National Guard of Ukraine Vitaliy Markiv, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in Italy.
“I understand that the prime minister cannot influence the Italian court. But I showed in detail what happened there, at what distance he was from the murder scene. And that we have to take the guy out,” the president said.
Markiv’s mother thanked Zelensky for his efforts to release her son.
On July 12, 2019, the Italian court sentenced Markiv to 24 years in prison, finding him guilty of complicity in the premeditated murder of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli in 2014.
