The Prosecutor-General's Office has announced a new suspicion to the chairman of the Kherson regional council, Vladyslav Manher . Now he is not suspected of ordering a murder but of ordering the beating of Kateryna Handzyuk, the investigative project Slidstvo.Info has reported.
Manher's lawyer Oleksandr Shadrin confirmed the news to Hromadske.
The point in question is Articke 121 Part 2 of the Criminal Code – the ordering of a beating, which provides for imprisonment for seven to 10 years.
Earlier, Manher was facing charges of organizing a murder and premeditated murder, which provided for an imprisonment from 10 to 15 years or life imprisonment.
Earlier on 24 April, the court turned down a petition filed by the lawyers of another defendant in the case, Ihor Pavlovskyy, suspected of organising the murder of Kateryna Handzyuk. The court refused to change the preventive measure and left him in custody.
On 31 July 2018, Kherson activist Kateryna Handzyuk was attacked with acid in central Kherson. She died in hospital on 4 November.