The SBI filed with the court indictment into "titushkas," including the organizers and leaders of the kidnapping of Euro-Maydan activists

The SBI employees, under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office, have completed the pre-trial investigation into eight so-called "titushkas". They are accused of murder and torture of EuroMaidan participants. Among them are organisers and leaders of the kidnapping of activists Igor Lutsenko and Yurii Verbytskyi.

The indictment has been filed with the court.

The investigation established that a group of "titushkas" organized by the then government authorities had been kidnapping and threatening of EuroMaidan activists.

In particular, it was established that around 04:00 on January 21, 2014, these individuals kidnapped activists Igor Lutsenko and Yurii Verbytskyi from the Alexander Clinical Hospital in Kyiv. They sustained numerous bodily injuries and were tortured and mocked. The kidnappers tied up the activists, put polyethene bags on their heads and took them to Borysipilskyi district of Kyiv region. As a result of sustained injuries and hypothermia, Yurii Verbytskyi died in the field near the motorway. It was also revealed that on January 21, 2014, the same group of persons kidnapped, deprived of liberty and tortured Vladyslav Ivanenko.

Against these eight defendants, a special pre-trial investigation (in absentia) was carried out due to their hiding from the pre-trial investigation on the territory of the aggressor state and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

The members of the criminal organization are accused of illegal deprivation of liberty or kidnapping (Part 3 of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), torture (Part 2 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and murder committed upon prior conspiracy by a group of persons (subparagraphs 3 and 12 of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), the creation of the criminal organization (Part 1 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and illegal interference with the organization or holding of assemblies, rallies, marches and demonstrations (Article 340 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The sanction of the article provides for a punishment of up to 15 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment.