Murdered Activist Handziuk Believed 2 State Officials to Be Behind Attack on Her

26 March 2019 20:44

A Slidstvo.info investigation detailed in the film Handziuk. A Systematic Murder alleged that the victim knew who ordered an acid attack with the intention of killing her

The film, which premiered on March 25 in Kyiv uncovered important details relating to the murder of Kherson-based civic activist and political advisor to the mayor of the southern Ukrainian city Kateryna Handziuk. The latter mentioned the names of those likely behind the acid attack on her, which took place on July 31 last year outside her home.

Vladislav Manger, the head of Kherson’s Regional Council, was officially named key suspect on February 11 by Ukrainian prosecutors. Now there appears to be evidence that deputy head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yevhen Ryshchuk was involved too. At least, his name figures as the probable initiator of the murder in the text message Handziuk sent to her friends before she passed away on November 4, 2018.

Manger, whose membership in Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna party was suspended earlier, rejects all charges calling them “politically motivated”. He claims to “never have crossed paths with Handziuk in any issues” and is “happy to cooperate with the prosecution.”

The film also claims that head of Kherson Regional State Administration Andriy Hordeyev had a meeting with the head of Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak after the murder case of Handziuk was passed over to the intelligence agency. Gordieiev initially confirmed the meeting taking place, but later started denying it. In February, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko announced that there was no evidence to support Hordeyev’s connection to the case.

Earlier, Slidstvo.info discovered that Kherson law enforcement officials were involved in the case. Reputedly, the activist was subjected to surveillance by the local police, as a consequence of her counteracting illegal logging, which took place in the Kherson region.