From moment suspicion in absentia was announced to reading of indictment in court, nearly six years passed in this case. Notice of suspicion of committing criminal offence was served back in 2019, before full-scale invasion. However, indictment against 69-year-old Pavlo Aksyonov, Ukrainian citizen and Moscow-born, who is accused of violating laws and customs of war (Part 1, Article 438 of Criminal Code of Ukraine), was only submitted by Prosecutor’s Office of Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol to Podilskyy District Court of Kyiv on 28 June last year. Aksyonov has been on wanted list since 2019.
Sanction of this article provides for imprisonment for up to 12 years. The case is being considered under special court procedure (in absentia), meaning in the defendant’s absence.
What he is accused of
Hearing began with delay due to technical issues. Once they were resolved, those present were invited into courtroom, and defence lawyer joined via video link. Judge Oleh Denysov opened proceedings, court secretary announced composition, and parties moved on to consideration of case on merits.
State prosecutor Andriy Maha read out brief summary of indictment. According to investigation, Aksyonov is former serviceman, reserve lieutenant colonel of Armed Forces of Ukraine. From 1994 to 2003, he served at Yalta City Military Commissariat, including as deputy military commissar.
“At time not established by pre-trial investigation, but no later than 2015, Aksyonov accepted offer from unidentified persons and agreed to take up position of so-called military commissar of city of Yalta in Republic of Crimea,” prosecutor read out.
During 2015–2019, Aksyonov also served as “deputy chair” of “draft commission for Yalta city district”. According to prosecutor, in his role as military commissar of Yalta and at the same time deputy head of district draft commission, “Aksyonov acted during conscription campaigns being aware that Crimea is temporarily occupied territory and that international armed conflict is ongoing.”
“At the same time, in his work he was guided by legislation of the occupying state and, according to prosecution, deliberately ignored norms of international humanitarian law. Aksyonov carried out forced conscription of protected civilian population residing in temporarily occupied territory of Crimean Peninsula into military service in armed forces of Russian Federation, thereby violating requirements of Article 147 of Geneva Convention relative to Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949,” said Andriy Maha.
The state prosecutor added that no civil claim had been filed within these proceedings, and no aggravating or mitigating circumstances had been established.
As reported by the SBU, when the case was sent to court, the accused had “conscripted” 19,000 Crimeans into the Russian Armed Forces and over five years organised ten illegal draft campaigns.
Defence position
Since the accused did not appear in court, the judge explained the charges to his lawyer, Yuriy Sereda, provided by the Free Legal Aid Centre. The judge then asked the defence whether the accused understood the charges, whether he admitted guilt, and whether he intended to give testimony.
“In answering these questions, I want to emphasise that admitting guilt is the exclusive right of the accused; a lawyer cannot exercise this right on their behalf. I do not know Aksyonov’s position regarding the charges, as establishing contact with him was not possible either during pre-trial investigation—the suspicion was dated November 2019—or today, at the trial stage,” the lawyer responded to the judge’s questions.
According to Yuriy Sereda, under these circumstances, the accused’s right to defence is being violated.
“Effectively, the accused cannot exercise his right to admit or deny guilt. He cannot coordinate his defence strategy with a lawyer, nor can he exercise the right to freely choose his counsel. Furthermore, I believe that a person facing charges cannot fully realise the right to defence, since this is closely linked to the right to have a lawyer and is expressed not only through the lawyer’s participation in the criminal proceedings but also through the ability to personally defend oneself against the accusations,” said Aksyonov’s lawyer.
The lawyer added that his client might be unaware of the criminal proceedings against him, as people in the temporarily occupied territory have limited access to Ukrainian government websites, including Uryadovyy Kurier.
The prosecutor disputed this, stating that the accused had been properly notified of the proceedings through publication of a summons on the Podilskyy District Court website and in Uryadovyy Kurier newspaper.
“He was also assigned a defence lawyer, so, given that these measures were taken, the prosecution believes that, at present, the accused’s right to defence is not being violated. I also note that the suspicion was announced before the full-scale invasion, and at that time there were no problems accessing Ukrainian websites,” added prosecutor Maha.
Evidence examination
After hearing both sides, the court moved to review the evidence. The prosecution proposed first examining written evidence, followed by witness questioning. The defence did not object, and the court approved this order.
No further details were provided by the prosecutor due to the confidentiality of the pre-trial investigation and the current stage of proceedings.
The next hearing is scheduled for 27 April.
This report was prepared as part of the INSTITUTE FOR WAR & PEACE REPORTING project “Justice Live”.