Sheremet’s murder: court suspends trial again
25 January 2024 13:57
The trial of the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet, which took place in Kyiv in 2016, has been temporarily suspended. This is stated in the press service of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, according to 
The scandalous case of Sheremet‘s murder, in which the suspects are musician and ATO veteran Andriy Antonenko, combat medic Yana Dugar and cardiac surgeon Yulia Klymenko, is now actually “on hold” again.
During the court hearing, the defendant Dugar’s lawyer made a proposal to suspend the case, as the defendants Dugar and Antonenko are performing their official duties in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as stated in the statement.
Dugar, who is a military medic, said that she holds a senior position and is involved in the evacuation of soldiers from the battlefield. Antonenko said he was involved in military operations in one of the key areas.
Another defendant, Yulia Kuzmenko, also indicated her participation in the war as a doctor.
The defence stressed that these individuals are unable to participate in the trial in this criminal proceedings for a long period of time.
The court was unable to immediately consider the defence counsel’s request during the hearing, as it was necessary to clarify the position of the victims on this request.
The party of the victims, which includes Sheremet’s mother and daughter, as well as the founder of the UP, Olena Prytula, agreed to the postponement of the hearing. Their lawyer also serves in the Armed Forces, and they had previously requested that the trial be suspended until the end of hostilities.
The case was postponed until Dugar returns from military service.
“… this case is suspended until… the end of Yana’s military service,”
– lawyer Dmytro Krugovoy wrote on his Facebook page.
It should be noted that the case is being considered by a jury. The trial in Sheremet’s case began anew in the summer of 2023 after the mobilisation of one of the jurors and the departure of another abroad.
Sheremet’s case
Journalist Pavlo Sheremet died on 20 July 2016 as a result of a car bombing in Kyiv.
on12 December 2019, police detained three suspects in the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet. They are military nurse Yana Dugar, volunteer and cardiac surgeon Yulia Kuzmenko, and ATO veteran Andriy Antonenko. Investigators believe that the suspects’ motive is an attempt to destabilise the socio-political situation in Ukraine. All of them were served with a notice of suspicion and a custodial measure of restraint was chosen. Andrii Antonenko was the longest in the detention centre, while the other two later had their preventive measure changed to a more lenient one.
on 22 May 2020, the investigation in this case was completed, and in August 2020, the case was sent to court.
on 4 January 2021, audio recordings were made public of alleged KGB officials of Belarus discussing the elimination of political opponents, including Sheremet. Former Belarusian special forces officer Ihor Makar, who handed over the audio recordings to the Ukrainian police, testified in Kyiv on 19 January of the same year in the case of the orderers of Sheremet’s murder.
