Security Service completes pre-trial investigation into Handziuk case

The Security Service of Ukraine, under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office, has completed a pre-trial investigation into criminal proceedings on suspicion of organizing the attack on Kateryna Handziuk by Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council Vladyslav Manher and assistant consultant to member of the Kherson Regional Council Oleksiy Levin.
“All the case files are ready, the SBU staff professionally fulfilled their work and gathered the evidence base that will clearly prove the position of the prosecution in court. I hope that this case will be considered at first instance. The perpetrators and instigators of Kateryna Handziuk's murder will receive a well-deserved punishment,” the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) quotes Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov.

According to investigators, Manher is suspected of arranging infliction of grievous bodily harm to Kateryna Handziuk, which led to her death, in collusion with Levin. Manher and Levin are suspected of committing the crimes under Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 121 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

SBU investigators informed the suspects and their lawyers, victims and their representatives that the pre-trial investigation was completed. All parties were given access to investigative documents. Once the defense party gets familiarized with the case files, they will be submitted to court for consideration on the merits.

As a reminder, five people have already been sentenced in Handziuk case: the perpetrator of the crime Serhiy Torbin and his accomplices Mykyta Hrabchuk, Volodymyr Vasianovych, Vyacheslav Vyshnevsky and Viktor Horbunov. They were sentenced to terms of imprisonment of between three and six and a half years in prison.

Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council Vladyslav Manher was served a notice of suspicion of committing a crime.

The key defendant in the case, Oleksiy Levin, was detained in Bulgaria on January 24, 2020, thanks to the cooperation of local law enforcement officers with the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office. On March 16, Oleksiy Levin was extradited to Ukraine.

An acid attack was committed on activist Kateryna Handziuk near the entrance to her house in Kherson on July 31, 2018. Burns covered 40 percent of her body. She underwent several operations but died on November 4, 2018.