The person who ordered the arson of a Lviv journalist's car was sentenced

The Halytskyi District Court of Lviv sentenced the person who ordered the arson of the car of a Lviv journalist, «Radio Liberty» Halyna Tereshchuk. Vadym Dmytrenko, despite denying his guilt, received six years in prison.

As indicated in the verdict, which was published in the court registry in December 2024, law enforcement officers suspected Vadym Dmytrenko of ordering the arson of the car of a Lviv correspondent, «Radio Liberty» Halyna Tereshchuk. Her Mitsubishi Colt car was burned on the night of January 30, 2020 on Kubiyovycha St. in Lviv. A week later, police detained in Odessa a 19-year-old resident of Khmelnytskyi, Yakob Sarakhman, who agreed to set fire to the car for UAH 5,000. He agreed to cooperate with the investigation and as a result received a suspended sentence.

In this case, in addition to the perpetrator, there were two more suspects: Vadym Dmytrenko was called the customer, and ex-policeman Mykhailo Cherdak – the organizer of the arson. The court verdict stated that Dmytrenko gave instructions to Cherdak, who passed them on to the executor.

Vadym Dmytrenko did not plead guilty to a criminal offense (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 347-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – intentional destruction or damage to the journalist's property).

The case was considered by Judge Lyudmila Myronenko, who examined all the evidence and arguments of the parties. She recognized that the accused, denying his guilt, was trying to avoid punishment. Lyudmila Myronenko found Dmytrenko guilty of a criminal offense, imposing a sentence of – six years in prison. The term of serving the sentence will be counted from the moment of his detention. He must also compensate 100 thousand. UAH of moral and material compensation. The verdict can still be appealed.