Suspect in Iryna Farion murder case remanded in custody
Photo: Suspect in the murder of Iryna Farion (RBC-Ukraine)
A pre-trial restraint has been imposed on the detained 18-year-old suspected of murdering Ukrainian public figure Iryna Farion. The court in Lviv decided to send the suspect to custody for two months without the right to be released on bail.
The suspect will be held in custody in Lviv. The suspect's lawyer asked the court to impose a round-the-clock house arrest, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to prove his involvement in the crime. However, the court granted the prosecutor's request.
After the court hearing, speaking to journalists, the suspect's lawyer, Ihor Sulyma, said that he would appeal the court's decision. The lawyer explained that he believed the court's decision was unfounded.
Farion's murder
On July 19, ex-MP and linguist Iryna Farion was murdered in Lviv. It happened while she was waiting for a taxi in the yard of her house. The attacker shot the 60-year-old woman in the temple. She was hospitalized in serious condition and underwent surgery. The victim was transferred to the intensive care unit and was in a deep brain coma and on artificial lung ventilation. But after a while medics pronounced her dead. Farion was buried on July 22 at the Lychakiv Cemetery. Thousands of people came to her funeral.
Investigators are examining the case under Part 1 of Article 115 (premeditated murder) of the Criminal Code. Three main versions are being considered: personal animosity, social and political activity, and the “Russian trace”. The National Police put a man suspected of Farion's murder on the wanted list. CCTV footage shows that he wore bright clothes and had an atypical gait.
Russian media spread reports that Russian “national socialists” from the NS/WP movement claimed responsibility for the murder. They published a video allegedly from the moment of Farion's murder. The police, in turn, said they would check the video and see if it was useful to the investigation.
Later, on July 26, the security forces managed to detain the suspect after 139 hours of thorough search. It is an 18-year-old man, a native of Dnipro. He was detained there. Currently, the investigation is inclined to believe that the shooter is only the performer. Law enforcement officers also said that the suspect rented at least three apartments in Lviv in preparation for the crime.
Today, law enforcement officers had a briefing with the media, where they revealed new details of the crime. The investigation has established that the bullet was not a live round, as a sporting shell was found at the scene. Law enforcement officials assume that Farion was shot with a modified pistol at a distance of no more than two meters. It is recorded that the crime was prepared carefully for a long time.
The sanction of the article under which the case was initiated provides for a sentence of imprisonment for up to 15 years.
Read more about this case, what is known about the investigation, and the shooter's motives in a separate RBC-Ukraine article.
