The Lviv Court of Appeal rejected the appeal against the pre-trial restraint for Ostap Stakhiv, who is suspected of fraud and illegal dissemination of information about the location of military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Stakhiv will remain in custody without the right to be released on bail. The decision of the Galician District Court of Lviv of October 2 was upheld.
Prosecutor Oleh Telefanko said that in January 2024, Stakhiv released a video with information that allowed him to identify the location of the military unit. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also noted that even before the full-scale invasion of Russia, he had encouraged anti-vaccination movements, accompanied by calls for riots and seizure of government buildings.
Stakhiv was charged under articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- ч. 1 and ch. 2 Art. 190 (fraud), which provides for up to three years in prison,
- ч. 2 Art. 114-2 (unauthorized dissemination of information about the deployment of the Armed Forces under martial law), with a possible sentence of up to eight years in prison.
The appeal of Ostap Stakhiv, who participated online and expressed dissatisfaction with the inability to attend in person, was considered by judges Oleh Bereziuk, Vasyl Holovaty, and presiding judge Oksana Malinovska-Mykytych. During the hearing, several of Stakhiv’s supporters, including Vasyl Pleskach, obstructed the court. The court upheld the decision to keep Stakhiv in custody until November 30, without the right to bail, which is final and not subject to appeal.
The prosecutor’s motion refers to the risks of escape, destruction of evidence and possible pressure on witnesses by the suspect, which became the basis for a preventive measure in the form of detention for 60 days without bail.
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