Photo: Suspilne
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Lviv sentenced Vyacheslav Zinchenko to life imprisonment on October 1 for the murder of Ukrainian linguist and former lawmaker Iryna Farion.
The court found Zinchenko guilty of the intentional murder of a person in connection with the performance of a public duty and motivated by national intolerance, as well as illegal possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to four years for the weapons offense, with the lesser sentence absorbed by the life sentence. The sentence is to be counted from his arrest on July 25, 2024.
Zinchenko, who was 18 when he was arrested, denied his guilt throughout the trial. The verdict has not yet entered into force and can be appealed within 30 days.
The court also partially upheld a civil claim filed by Farion’s daughter, Sofia Osoba, and ordered Zinchenko to pay UAH 5 million in compensation for moral damages. Osoba had sought UAH 15 million.
Farion was shot in the head near her home in Lviv on the evening of July 19, 2024. She was taken to hospital in critical condition but died several hours later. Zinchenko was detained in Dnipro on July 25.
The prosecution said the investigation included more than 60 expert examinations, interviews with more than 1,500 people and analysis of extensive surveillance-camera footage. The case was transferred to court in December 2024, and more than 80 hearings were held before the verdict.
The defense has described the case as fabricated and is expected to challenge the verdict in the appellate court.
