Maidan Hero, Self-Confessed Sniper Gets Reduced Sentence for Slaughter of Berkut Officers
The person who shot at Berkut during the Maidan is no more suspected of willful killing. Now shooting in the back of law enforcement officers is just infringement on life and illegal possession of weapons. The charges are milder and are included in the amnesty. So, he's likely to avoid conviction though he described him killing Berkut officers on his own. Ivan Bubenchik from Lvov boasted of his feat in multiple interviews. He shot 2 people with a short rifle and wounded 1 officer. It's unclear why he was detained only 4 years later. But now the question is why he was released. The first case against a Maidan activist alerted all the participants of the so-called Revolution of Dignity. Some radicals who are MPs now viewed it as a personal threat as Kiev's official narrative about shooting at innocent and unarmed activists is bulging at the seams. Justice will reach everyone, even Yuriy Lutsenko, the current Prosecutor General. He actually had to intervene to prevent an uncomfortable situation from emerging.
Artem Potyomin followed the ebb and flow of justice and investigation.
- Now heroes, as Ukraine puts it, not only never die, but also are never judged.
- Yes, they are, but quickly, to be released shortly.
Prosecutor General Lutsenko has said the Bubenchik case is wrong, investigation incriminates murder to him and is about to prove his guilt. The suspect played his role well, sitting with a doleful face at the hearings. Speaking to the journalists, he claimed the government got scared, framed up the case and thanked the Ukrainian people for support.
Ivan Bubenchik, suspect: "You can rely on me if you need protection again. I will defend Ukraine and my people despite the fact that someone's trying to make things up to convict me. The defender of the people can't be accused of anything".
By the Prosecutor General's decision, the investigation immediately changed. Lutsenko even charged his deputy with such a murky and important case. She quickly managed to slow down the investigation and make it politically comfortable.
Angela Strizhevskaya, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine: "As Senior Prosecutor, having studied the case papers, I conclude that the previous labeling of Bubenchik's deed wasn't grounded enough to bring such serious charges against him".
The Prosecutor's office didn't consider Bubenchik's acknowledgment as a good ground either. He literally described to the journalists his every step on the day of the murder. This footage shows the Maidan activist showing around the Kiev Conservatory where he planted himself to shoot twice at the officers' back. It looks more like a police footage than a documentary, but the suspect is wearing no handcuffs, and after the filming, he'll just go home.
Oleg Tsukanov, lawyer: "If Ukrainian authorities think that the Ukrainian people, on behalf of whom they're acting, can turn a blind eye to it and grant amnesty to a murderer, it's the choice and the right of the Ukrainian people".
Bubenchik's fans stood up for their hero, making it clear to their potential enemies rather than to their supporters: "Sooner or later, they'll come after you. For now, let's flock up".
"I think we should ask the President, the Prosecutor General Ukraine's law enforcement in general if they are for or against the Maidan. It's about their attitude to Ivan Bubenchik. If they are against Maidan, they should judge us and get the people's reaction".
After the Maidan, Bubenchik himself basked in the success of a person who scared the Berkut. The long-awaited revolution brought no blessing, so he went to Donbass to fight for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He got wounded, returned home, tried to make money, he got several subpoenas, but never appeared at the hearings.
Elena Boiko, journalist: "He went abroad several dozens of times. He neither was wanted or gave an undertaking not to leave. The case and Bubenchik go their separate ways. His son says he went to Poland on business. But I simply call it illegal trafficking. Obviously, he took there alcohol and cigarettes to bring back some goods".
Experts think that the authorities made an attempt to bring Bubenchik to responsibility 4 years after the Maidan to show that the investigation of murders at the Maidan is slow but steady. Though they haven't decided yet whom to declare guilty.
Yury Kot, political scientist: "If the investigation is brought to a close, everybody understands that the guilty verdict will be addressed not to Bubenchik, but the current Ukrainian government because, actually, all of them shot at the Berkut backs as well as the Ukrainian people's back, and continue to do so".
In fact, Bubenchik appeared in court to hear he's suspected under 2 articles of the Criminal Code, but that he shouldn't be worried as he won't face any punishment for it because recognizing a Maidan activist as a murderer would mean to recognize the Maidan as a coup d'etat.
Artem Potyomin reported on heroes-murderers of the Maidan.