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Photo from Ukrinform–UATV
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv returned the indictment in the murder case of Denis Voronenkov, ex-member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, to the prosecutor’s office for further development.
On June 13, the presiding judge in this case, Vitalii Tsyktich, announced the decision on the results of the defense’s petition, Ukrinform reported.
“After consulting in the chambers, the court decided to return the indictment to the prosecutor for further elaboration,” the judge said.
In addition, the court extended the detention of Yaroslav Tarasenko and Oleksandr Los, defendants in this case, until Aug. 11.
During the preparatory court hearing on Wednesday, lawyers of both defendants expressed their request for a return of the indictment to the prosecutor for finalization due to deficiencies in the investigation of all circumstances of the crime allegedly committed by Tarasenko and Los.
“The indictment clearly does not establish the role of Tarasenko in the murder of Voronenkov,” said lawyer Vladislav Dobosh in court.
On March 23, 2017, Voronenkov was shot dead near the Premier Palace hotel in Kyiv. The killer was a resident of Sevastopol, Pavlo Parshov. The killer shot the former member of parliament four times. Voronenkov died on the spot. The killer was also wounded and died later in the hospital.
Tarasenko and Los are charged with “intentional murder and complicity in a crime.”
In addition, on Oct. 9, 2017, Attorney General Yuriy Lutsenko alleged that a Russian citizen and the former common-law husband of Voronenkov’s wife, Vladimir Tyurin, was resposible in organizing the assassination. Tyurin’s name is frequently connected to the Russian criminal underworld.
The prosecutor’s office believes that Tyurin is controlled by the Russian Security Service, and he ordered the murder of Voronenkov in exchange for preferences from the Russian Intelligence Services.
In 2016, Voronenkov renounced his Russian citizenship and emigrated to Ukraine with his wife. Voronenkov then became a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and Russian foreign policy. Although as a member of the State Duma he had voted for Russia’s annexation of Crimea, in Ukraine he argued that the annexation had been illegal. In early 2017, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a case to look into Voronenkov’s suspected corruption, and an investigation by the anti-corruption blogger and Russian opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, found that Voronenkov possessed significantly more assets than his officially-declared income would allow.
Russia has consistently denied any involvement in Mr Voronenkov’s killing.
