PGO detains four ex-Berkut officers suspected of murders on Maidan

June 23, investigators of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine (PGO) detained four former Berkut riot police officers, who are suspected of murders of Euromaidan protesters on February 18, 2014.

Spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Larysa Sarhan posted this on Facebook.

According to her, investigators arrested four former employees of Berkut riot police force of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kharkiv region, suspected of committing acts on February 18, 2014 in the Instytutska Street and Kriposny Provulok Lane aimed at illegal obstruction of conduct of rallies, using special equipment. As a result, 35 people were seriously injured and two or more persons were willfully killed in a way which was dangerous to many people.

In addition, one suspect is accused of killing person during these events.

Sarhan notes that the mentioned suspects are working in the National Police of Ukraine.

The court ruled to take all the suspects into custody for 60 days without the possibility of bail.

In addition, the PGO investigators conducted a number of searches during which weapons and ammunition and other items and things having evidentiary value in the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings were found and seized at the places of residence of the suspects.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

As Hromadske TV journalist Anastasia Stanko posted on Facebook page, one of four detained ex-Berkut officers was one of those traffic police officers who attacked her and journalist and human rights activist Kostiantyn Reutsky at a checkpoint in Kharkiv region in January 2015.

“January 29, 2015, this Berkut officer Honcharenko stopped us at a traffic police post when we were returning from Debaltseve, then still controlled by Ukrainian army. Mr. Honcharenko together with another two Berkut officers wrung hands to Kostiantyn Reutsky, threw him to the ground. They did that just because he began to film them when they took away our stuff. When we started to call the representative of the President and other people, three Berkut officers just laughed and said: we were not punished for Maidan and we will not be punished now,” Stanko said.

“Between that day and today’s event, they even had time to work in the national police. The case, which was initiated on our reports, was opened and closed three times (it is currently closed),” Stanko added.