The prosecutor’s office will appeal the verdict for the gang rape of a girl in Transcarpathia: what is known

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The prosecutor’s office will appeal against the sentence against three teenagers who raped a 14-year-old girl in Transcarpathia and spread a video of abuse on the Internet and at school. The Volovetsky District Court released them from serving their sentence and set them on probation for 2 years. Public organizations, lawyers and Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reacted to this: he recorded a violation of the child’s right to protection and a fair trial. Now the verdict will be appealed in accordance with the procedure established by law, the Prosecutor General’s Office informs. “On March 16, 2023, the Volovetsky District Court of Zakarpattia Oblast passed a verdict in criminal proceedings against three minors for committing sexual violence against a minor. Currently, in accordance with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code, the verdict has not entered into force. The prosecutor’s office will take all measures to protect the rights of the victim persons and ensuring the fair and inevitable punishment of those guilty of the crime”, prosecutors emphasize. What happened? Photo: spyrakot/Depositphotos In Transcarpathia, in the village of Verkhni Vorota, three teenagers lured their girlfriend to the yard of one of the teenagers, and then to the basement. The girl had been friends with boys for a long time, so she left. One of the perpetrators hit the girl in the stomach, and then they raped her, recording the abuse on video. The video was uploaded to the Internet and distributed around the school. The girl did not dare to tell about the violence – her grandmother learned about it from the police and later wrote a statement. At the trial, all three boys pleaded guilty. At the same time, the court took into account “positive characteristics” for the participants from the teachers and the school principal. Judge Oksana Sofilkanych imposed a sentence of 5 years in prison, but released the teenagers from serving the sentence, placing them on probation for 2 years. Each of the boys was ordered to pay 60,000 hryvnias to the victims, as well as to cover the procedural costs of more than 25,000 hryvnias for each. The crime was committed in the summer of 2021, but the court has only now issued a verdict in the case. The children continued to go to the same school. The unfair verdict outraged human rights defenders and the public. After publicity, human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets took personal control over a high-profile case of gang rape. He learned that the trial was held with the participation of a lawyer from the Legal Aid Center, the interests of the victim were represented in court by the child protection service of the local village council, where the mother of one of the rapists works as a secretary. And the same child protection service gave the rapists positive characteristics, the ombudsman said. At the same time, the Volovetsk District Court stated that the injured girl had a lawyer. “During the court process, the victim’s interests were represented by a legal representative – the father and a lawyer. Also, during the procedural actions in the court, the presence of a psychologist was ensured. The representative of the children’s affairs service was involved by the court at the request of the victim herself only during her interrogation, as she did not want to to testify in the presence of the legal representative – the father,” the court wrote. The village of Verkhni Vorota in Transcarpathia, Dmytro Lubinets, sent his representative to Transcarpathia to the father and grandmother of the offended girl. The commissioner promised to carefully analyze the actions of the judge and the prosecutor’s office, to send relevant letters to the High Council of Justice, the Prosecutor General and the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors. “We will also analyze the activities of the local child protection service, whose employee represented the girl’s interests in court. After all, as it turned out, the mother of one of the boys is also an employee of that child social protection service. Therefore, there are doubts about the “impartiality” and professionalism of representing the girl’s interests”, – the ombudsman wrote. Journalist Vitaly Glagola, who covered the incident, reported that the girl’s father agreed to file an appeal with the court, and lawyer Masi Nayem is ready to assemble a group of lawyers to defend the girl and prepare an appeal. “I spoke with the girl’s father. He is ready to fight to the end and file an appeal against the court’s decision. Thanks to Ihor Kryvosheev, it was possible to inform the Office of the General Prosecutor and the High Council of Justice. Masha Yefrosinina found one of the best psychologists in Ukraine for the girl, who will help the girl survive the what happened,” the journalist wrote. The head of Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, Viktora Mykyta, is also outraged by the court’s decision – on his behalf, social services, the relevant departments of OVA and Mukachiv RVA are already working in Nizhnyovoritsk hromada. “All the circumstances, actions or possible inaction of the responsible officials of the TG, the educational institution and others are being studied. It is impossible to turn back time, but such cases are unacceptable in our society and preventing the commission of such crimes by minors is the task of the entire vertical of the executive power and local self-government. The family of the victim and the child will be provided with all the necessary support and assistance,” Nikita wrote. The head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration also called on all parents not to keep silent about such cases, to contact the district authorities and him personally. The Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, reacted to the terrible crime. “What happened in Transcarpathia, the very fact and the court’s verdict regarding this egregious case, require the immediate synergy of human rights defenders, public activists, the educational community and opinion leaders, so that no prejudices, no connections, no stigmas stand in the way of a just decision. As a father of two sons, as a man who has seen a lot in life, I am of the opinion that only the perpetrator is always to blame. Period,” the head of the Ministry of Education and Culture wrote. He added that this case is about a “distorted sense of impunity”, about the fact that everything can be solved and covered up. “In schools, we still do not teach children what is more important than any formulas, subjects with predicates and nucleic acids – interaction with each other, understanding of emotions and respect for personal boundaries. I promise, together with my colleagues, to make every effort to prove the case to the end she deserves,” Oksen added. Read also: How to act in case of sexual violence during war? Instruction

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