«Smear» «major»: how the police «merges» the case against the son of the owner of «Foxtrot», who shot a man
On May 17, a shooting occurred near the village of Khotyanivka in the Kyiv region. The representative of the so-called «golden youth» actually shot his acquaintance with a traumatic pistol. The guy miraculously survived. However, the police initially qualified the case as ordinary hooliganism, and now changed the article to «inflicting light bodily harm». That is, the maximum that can now threaten the shooter is a fine.
He shot close
Vladimir Zaitsa is 28 years old. There are numerous scars on his body, arms and legs. These are traces of bullets fired at the boy by Oleksandr Makovetsky, the son of co-owner of the Foxtrot chain of stores Valery Makovetsky.
According to the victim, they had a domestic conflict with Makovetsky Jr. for a long time, and then they did not see each other for a long time. However, it so happened that on May 17, Volodymyr drove his friend to the very place where Makovetsky was.
He learned that Volodymyr was going there, hid in a bush with a weapon, and when the boy brought his friend and was already returning, he blocked his way, forced him out of the car and without any explanation released a whole clip from the injury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iebrFw7TY_E
«I went out and noticed at once that Makovetsky was behaving inappropriately. He immediately pulled out a pistol, reloaded it and shot me in the leg. I leaned on him, trying to knock out the gun, but it didn’t work. Then he shot me in the stomach, I fell. Asked him: do not shoot, please! But he continued to release a clip from me. He was hit twice in the arm, then in the thigh — this is the deepest wound. He finished firing only when the bullets ran out. I asked him to call an ambulance, but he refused. And he immediately stated that he would get nothing for it. «, — Vladimir told «StopCor» about that evening. He added that Makovetsky did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol alone.
«Merger» of the case
After the incident, Makovetsky Jr. was placed under house arrest. The criminal proceedings were first opened under part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine «hooliganism», although Volodymyr’s lawyers and human rights activists demanded that Makovetsky’s act be qualified at least as an attempted murder.
And the other day it became known that the police of the Kyiv region replaced the article in the case of the shooting near Khotyanivka, and instead of «hooliganism» there is already «infliction of minor injuries.» That is, to shoot a person, intentionally inflicting several deep wounds on the whole body, according to the police, is like putting a bruise or a scratch.
Fine instead of prison
If the case is brought to court with such a qualification, the maximum that threatens Makovetsky Jr. for causing alleged minor injuries is a fine of UAH 1,700. While the sanction of the article «hooliganism» provides for imprisonment from 3 to 7 years. And attempted premeditated murder can cost an offender up to 15 years in prison.
Neither the shooters nor his lawyers want to communicate with StopCor. Our journalists tried to contact them several times, met them at the police station, but never heard any explanations from them — why Makovetsky fired, what were the reasons for this, in what condition he was. But the most important thing is how it turned out that the son of a wealthy father, having shot a man close, did not follow that article.
«Major» cases
«It certainly should not be qualified even as hooliganism, but at least as a crime against life and health. At the same time, it doesn’t matter what the weapon was — a firearm or a traumatic weapon. The man was seriously injured. As a rule, such cases are classified as attempted murder, and hooliganism can be an additional qualification. «, — lawyer Oleksandr Plakhotniuk explained in a comment to StopCor.
«Unfortunately, in our country, law enforcement agencies, if it is beneficial to them, classify the case as murder where it is not even close. And vice versa. In this story, obviously, the name and opportunities of the family played a role. «, — the lawyer assumes.
Eduard Bagirov, a lawyer and human rights activist, shares the same opinion. He is sure that this story is a vivid example of how «majors» and their sons live according to their «major» laws in our country.
«Unfortunately, there have always been special conditions for them. Investigators, prosecutors and judges, like those three monkeys who hear nothing, see nothing, are silent. And ordinary people are shown only a figure of three fingers. The children of the rich, no matter what crime they commit, go unpunished and continue to live in a mode that will always get out of hand. Parents’ money decides everything «, — says Eduard Bagirov.
«Such stories do not take place in civilized countries, with the current law enforcement and judicial system. Instead, we have such «majors» who can continue to cut, shoot, and drive cars, feeling their impunity. Because there is no precedent for any of these sons to be punished. Unfortunately, our system of protection of ordinary citizens does not work. «, — the lawyer complains.
StopCor filed applications with the prosecutor’s office and the DBR. Our journalists and human rights activists continue to monitor the case to prevent the police from «smearing» the «major» whose son he may be.
