The Supreme Court ruled that it is the state that must compensate for moral damage to victims during the Revolution of Dignity

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled on May 27 that it is the state that must compensate for moral damage to victims of crimes against participants in the Revolution of Dignity.

This was reported by the Lawyersʼ Advisory Group, a public organization created by lawyers in 2015 to support Maidan cases.

The court upheld the victimʼs claim against the state, represented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. 200 thousand hryvnias should be collected from the state budget in his favor to compensate for moral damage.

The lawsuit was in the case of the former deputy commander of the Crimean Berkut, Chief of Staff Serhiy Marchenko. Earlier, the courts of first instance and appeals ruled that compensation should be paid jointly by Marchenko and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, the Supreme Court overturned this decision and placed this obligation solely on the state.

The Marchenko case

In 2024, a court sentenced Serhiy Marchenko in absentia to 15 years in prison for illegal actions against Maidan participants and high treason. During the annexation of Crimea, he supported the occupiers and joined the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The court found that on the night of December 11, 2013, during the storming of Maidan, in which the Crimean Berkut took part, 20 protestors were injured. Eight people were also detained. They were placed in a convoy car and taken to the Shevchenkivsky district police department, but were released after some time.

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