Due to the recusal of three judges, the murder case in Pliushchivka will now be heard in Snihurivka

Viktor Prokopchuk, head of the village of Plyushchivka, at a preliminary hearing at the court in Nova Odesa. Photo: NikVesti

The criminal proceedings against Viktor Prokopchuk, the village head of Pliushchivka, who is accused of murder and unlawful handling of firearms, have been transferred to the Snigurivka District Court following the dismissal of judges in Nova Odesa.

This is evidenced by a ruling of the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal dated 15 October, according to NikVesti.

It is worth noting that the case was initially due to be heard at the Bashtanka Court; however, following a motion by the defendant requesting that the case be heard by a panel of three judges, it transpired that the court did not have the required number of judges.

The Court of Appeal subsequently referred the case to Nova Odesa. A preparatory hearing was held on 6 October. However, following a decision by the High Council of Justice on 7 October, there were no judges left at the Nova Odesa District Court to carry out the automated allocation of the case.

As it transpired, the Third Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice had decided to bring disciplinary proceedings against Valeriia Barankevych and Serhii Serhiienko, judges of the Nova Odesa District Court, in the form of a motion for their dismissal. Another judge, Vasyl Kichula, has been suspended for three months.

Judges Valeriia Barankevych, Serhii Serhiienko and Vasyl Kichula. Photo: NikVesti

On 15 October, the prosecutor of the Bashtanka District Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion to change the jurisdiction in the Prokopchuk case. A panel of judges ruled to refer the case files to the Snihurivka District Court in Mykolaiv region.

Murder in Plyushchivka

The tragedy occurred on 17 March at the village council offices in the village of Pliushchivka, Bashtanka District, Mykolaiv region. Investigators stated that on that day, a conflict arose between the village head, Viktor Prokopchuk, and his assistant, Svitlana Vanzhula, due to a long-standing hostile relationship. During the altercation, the man took a sawn-off hunting shotgun and fired at the woman at least three times. She died at the scene from her injuries.

The following day, 18 March, village head Viktor Prokopchuk was remanded in custody, with bail set at over 290,000 гривень. Bail was posted for him just one day later, on 19 March. On 20 March, the public prosecutor’s office announced that it intended to appeal against the court’s decision regarding the preventive measure imposed on the village head of Pliushchivka.

The mayor of Bashtanka, Oleksandr Berehovyi, had previously commented on the incident. He refuted the suggestion that the cause might have been an alleged «unauthorised usurpation of power» in the village whilst the village head was in office. According to him, upon his return, Viktor Prokopchuk resumed his duties without hindrance, and the question of his dismissal was not raised.

NikVesti has learnt from its own sources that, a week before the murder, the victim had reported to the police that the village head had brought a shotgun to work; however, the police took no action. He kept the weapon itself in his own hiding place — inside a sofa.

However, on 8 April, in response to an information request from NikVesti, the Mykolaiv region police headquarters stated that Svitlana Vanzhula had not reported to the police any threats or the presence of a weapon at the workplace of the suspect, Viktor Prokopchuk.

In August, the president of the Bashtanka District Court applied to the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal to have the case transferred to another court. However, the appeal was rejected. In September, the Court of Appeal did agree to transfer the case to the Novo-Odesa District Court because there were not enough judges in Bashtanka to form a panel.

On 6 October, the Nova-Odesa District Court held a preparatory hearing in the case.