Oleksandr Medvid found guilty of kidnapping EuroMaidan activist, released from custody

Oleksandr Medvid has been released from custody after a Kyiv court found him guilty of kidnapping a Maidan activist in 2014 due to the statute of limitations, Suspilne reported on April 3.

Medvid was found guilty of kidnapping a EuroMaidan activist in 2014 who was later found dead. According to Suspilne, Medvid denies any guilt and intends to file an appeal.

If the statute of limitations had not expired, Medvid would have been facing five years in prison, Suspilne wrote.

In 2014, protestor Yurii Verbytskyi, along with Ihor Lutsenko, was kidnapped from a hospital after receiving injuries during the EuroMaidan Revolution. Verbytskyi's body was later found in the woods near Kyiv showing signs of torture.

Medvid was ordered to pay Hr 248,000 ($6,745) to Lutsenko, who survived the ordeal.

In the nine years since Verbytskyi's kidnapping and murder, the composition of the court changed four times and the case was relaunched on three occasions, Suspile wrote.

Medvid is known as a "titushka."

During the reign of pro-Russian former President Viktor Yanukovych, "titushki" were a frequent presence at political rallies in Ukraine that were perceived as being too western-learning or against the regime.

These individuals were hired to act as violent saboteurs disguised in civilian clothes, including committing acts of murder.