Daughter of Farion: The Situation with Court Hearing Postponements Due to Absence of Zinchenko's Lawyers Has Exceeded All Limits
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Lviv has once again postponed the hearing in the case concerning the murder of linguist and public figure Iryna Farion. The absence of both lawyers representing the accused, Vyacheslav Zinchenko, has raised concerns from the prosecutor, who has called for measures to address this situation.
On April 9, during the hearing, the panel of judges, prosecutor Dmytro Petliovanyi, and Iryna Farion's daughter, Sofia Osoba, were present. The presiding judge announced at the beginning of the session that the accused's lawyers had not appeared, and one of them had yet to provide the court with confirmation of the reasons for their absence. The judge stated, "No information has been received other than what was reported yesterday. There is no confirmation regarding the business trip or return from the business trip of defense attorney Sulyma. Attorney Voroniak has reported that he submitted a request for absence on April 8-9 due to health reasons and for the possibility of continuing the case with the participation of another defender."
Prosecutor Dmytro Petliovanyi emphasized that the presence of the accused's lawyers is mandatory for the continuation of the trial. He expressed concern that the court session was being postponed again due to the absence of the defense side. The prosecutor requested the court to warn the participants that if attorney Sulyma fails to appear again, measures could be taken to hold him accountable if valid reasons for his absence are not properly confirmed.
Sofia Osoba, Iryna Farion's daughter, concurred with the prosecutor's opinion, stating that the situation regarding the postponement of court hearings due to the absence of Zinchenko's lawyers has already exceeded all possible limits. She believes that this is nothing more than a delay in the judicial process, which cannot be acceptable in a case that has sparked significant public resonance.
The presiding judge also reminded the accused Zinchenko that according to the plan for the criminal proceedings, his interrogation is scheduled for the next court session. After discussion, the panel of judges decided to announce a break in the hearing until 12:00 PM on April 15, hoping that by that time the situation with the lawyers would be resolved.
The background of the case is quite tragic. On the evening of July 19, 2024, an assassination attempt was made on former people's deputy Iryna Farion on Masaryka Street in Lviv. Following this, Farion died in the hospital. On July 25, a suspect in the murder was detained in Dnipro, an 18-year-old resident of Dnipro, who, according to the investigation, rented at least three apartments in Lviv in preparation for the crime. The investigation believes that the shooter is merely an executor.
On July 26, the court chose a preventive measure in the form of arrest for the suspect Vyacheslav Zinchenko without the option of bail. After the preventive measure was chosen, the young man told journalists that he did not kill the linguist. On December 26, the classification of the crime for the individual involved in the case was changed: he is suspected of intentional murder of a person in connection with the performance of their public duty out of motives of national intolerance, as well as illegal handling of weapons.