The SSU has collected irrefutable evidence proving the guilt of the former head of Kherson Region Council Vladyslav Manger and the assistant to a member of this council, Oleksiy Levin, who organized the attack on the civil activist Kateryna Handziuk.

The court sentenced both offenders to 10 years in prison and ordered them to pay UAH 15 mln to the victim’s family.

Based on the evidence gathered, the court found Manger and his accomplice Levin guilty under Articles 27.3, 28.2, 121.2 of the CCU (ordering and organizing the commission of intentional grievous bodily harm by a group of persons in a manner that is particularly torturous and has caused the victim’s death).

According to the investigation, Manger plotted the attack on Handziuk in early July 2018. He engaged Levin to coordinate the criminal actions.

Levin contacted his accomplice, Serhiy Torbin, and offered him money for finding those who would perpetrate the attack.

According to the ‘plan’ of the crime, which was ‘agreed’ with the former head of Kherson Region Council, the attackers were to break the activist’s limbs or pour sulphuric acid on her face.

For this, the organizers promised the ‘killers’ a monetary ‘reward’ of up to USD 5,000.

Torbin then found a perpetrator of the crime, who poured acid on Kateryna Handziuk on 31 July 2018 near the entrance to the house where she lived.

The girl died as a result of chemical burns.

In early August 2018, Levin paid the promised money, on Manger’s behalf, to Torbin.

In April 2020, the SSU completed a pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings on Manger and Levin’s involvement in the murder.

At that time, five people had already been sentenced in the Handziuk case: the direct organizer of the crime, Serhii Torbin, and his accomplices, Mykyta Hrabchuk, Volodymyr Vasyanovych, Viacheslav Vyshnevskyi and Viktor Horbunov. They were sentenced to 3 to 6.5 years in prison.

The key person involved in the case, Oleksiy Levin, was detained on 24 January 2020 in Bulgaria as a result of cooperation of local law enforcement with the SSU and the Prosecutor General’s Office, and later extradited to Ukraine.