STORIES OF CONVICTS

Alexander Bakhmach

By the decision of the Artyomovsk court of Cherkasy region (Ukraine), Alexander Bakhmach was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of crimes that he did not commit.

Alexandra’s lawyer, Galina Gnatyuk, filed a petition to the Supreme Court of Ukraine. In her application, the lawyer asked Court to review the sentence of her client due to many violations of the right to defense of Alexander Bakhmach. Attorney Galina Gnatyuk claims that during the cassation hearing of this case in relation to her client, article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was violated – such a violation is a sufficient basis for reviewing the verdict.

Another reason for canceling the sentence of Alexander Bakhmach is that during the pre-trial investigation, Alexander Bakhmach was tortured. The fact of torture was confirmed in the decision of the European court in the case of Zyakin v. Ukraine.

At the moment, the prosecutor’s office of the Cherkasy region is conducting a pre-trial investigation on the statement of Alexander Bakhmach, in which Alexander accuses the police of the Cherkasy region of torturing him in 2008 and, thus, forced Alexander to plead guilty to a crime that he did not commit.