The Supreme Court counted the period of his unconfirmed stay in the Russian pre-trial detention center as part of the sentence served to ex-MP and FSB agent Shepelev

A panel of judges of the Supreme Court counted the time spent in custody in Russia as part of the sentence served in the case of the escape from the Lukyanivsk SIZO of the ex-MP accused of a series of contract killings, FSB agent Oleksandr Shepelev, and wanted to release him. However, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the defense lawyers were unable to confirm the source of the documents during the consideration of the cassation appeal. The lawyers interviewed by UNN note that it is impossible to obtain official information from Russian authorities because of the war.

As it became known from the response of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to the request of UNN, the prosecution, during the consideration of the cassation appeal against Shepelev's sentence, reasonably objected to the inclusion of the period of his detention in the territory of the Russian Federation in the total term of his sentence.

Prosecutor Viktoriya Orshavska did not deny the fact that in 2015 the former MP was indeed detained in Russia and held under extradition arrest in connection with the consideration of the relevant request of the competent authorities of Ukraine. However, the Russian special services refused to extradite Shepelev to Ukraine, citing his value and threat to Russian national security.

Therefore, according to the prosecutor, the time of Shepelev's detention in the territory of the Russian Federation cannot be counted towards the total term of his sentence due to the refusal to extradite him to Ukraine for criminal prosecution.

"The documents provided by the defense in the cassation instance (copies of alleged procedural decisions from the case in the Russian Federation) were questioned by the prosecutor as documents of unknown origin, which are inadmissible," the response to the request reads.

According to lawyer Oleksandr Baidyk, because of the war unleashed by Russia, lawyers cannot receive information from Russian authorities.

"No, no, this is unrealistic at the moment. Since the full-scale invasion, it is unrealistic. First of all, the mail does not go. Secondly, they simply do not give information to lawyers. And, in addition, in order for a lawyer to receive any information from there, he or she must be included in the register of foreign lawyers providing legal assistance in the territory of the Russian Federation. That's why my colleagues asked me how, for example, to find prisoners. It is very difficult. It's unrealistic," Baidyk emphasized in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

Nadiya Chukhraeva, a lawyer and partner of Jurisvest Law Firm, in a comment to UNN noted that Supreme Court judges Vyacheslav Marynych, Volodymyr Korol and Alla Makarovets had no right to count Shepeleva's stay in the pre-trial detention center as part of the sentence served, the authenticity of which cannot be confirmed in any way.

"In general, it is not clear on what grounds the period of stay in the Russian pre-trial detention center was counted here, because the CPC of Ukraine clearly states that this rule can only be applied to persons who have been officially extradited. Analyzing this case, it appears that the extradition request was not executed, and therefore there are no legal grounds for applying both the CPC and the Savchenko law... Indeed, in today's conditions it is simply unrealistic to obtain additional confirmation of the fact and duration of Shepelev's detention in the Russian detention center. In addition, we should not forget that the former MP escaped from custody in Ukraine and was hiding in the aggressor state, while cooperating with them, which, in fact, led to the opening of criminal proceedings on the fact of his treason," Chukhraeva said.

Earlier it became known that prosecutor Victoria Orshavska filed a complaint with the HCJ against Supreme Court judges Korol V.V., Marynych V.K. and Markovets A. M, who considered the cassation in Shepelev's case, and on July 6, 2023, changed the sentence of the courts of previous instances, and almost released Shepelev.

The prosecutor in her complaint reported three main violations committed by the Supreme Court judges.

According to the automatic distribution, the complaint in Shepelev's case will be considered by the first ever judge-member of the HCJ who is fighting on the front against Russia, Olena Kovbiy.

Shepelev, as it turned out, was valuable to Russia because he was an agent of the Russian special services. This is evidenced by documents written by him. In particular, an explanatory note to the director of the FSB.

This is also confirmed by his active position on justifying Russian aggression and the annexation of Crimea, which he expressed during his communication with FSB representatives and active cooperation with the terrorist DNR.