Donetsk, May 22 - DAN. The Ukrainian People’s Tribunal for investigating the Poroshenko regime’s war crimes against Ukrainian citizens closed the two-day presentation of the parties' statements and a panel of jurors began to prepare a verdict.
The UPT suspended the arguments earlier on Tuesday to hear a witness. The testimony was given by Donetsk People’s Republic Head Alexander Zakharchenko. He answered the questions of presiding judge Elena Shishkina, prosecutor Sergey Kozhemyakin and lawyer for the defence Elena Gridina.
“What is now happing is the most terrible tragedy which our land has not experienced since the Great Patriotic War,” said Zakharchenko.
He told the jurors about the Donbass blockade by Kiev, the use of armed forces against civilians, and the genocide against the region’s population committed by the Poroshenko regime.
The arguments resumed after Zakharchenko’s testimony. The defence requested a psychiatric examination of Ukrainian parliament speaker Andrey Parubiy saying he could not be subjected to punishment on account of his mental illness.
However, the UPT said that the defence could not provide the sufficient body of medical evidence. The Tribunal also said that the suspect was healthy otherwise he would be unable to hold a government post under the Ukrainian law.
“After the arguments of the parties, the panel of jurors retreated to discuss a guilty or not-guilty verdict on the suspects. The prosecutor demanded life imprisonment for the suspects.
“The court has adjourned,” presiding judge Elena Shishkina announced.
The UPT brought charges against eight people including Ukrainian president Petr Poroshenko, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, National Security and Defence Council Secretary Alexander Turchinov, Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman, Chief of the General Staff Viktor Muzhenko, Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak, parliament speaker Andrey Parubiy and former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
The UPT set up by Ukrainian activists living in Donetsk and Lugansk is reviewing cases in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation and norms of international law.*jk