Khmelnytsky court sentences the man who assaulted a TV cameraman to 200 hours of community service

The Khmelnytsky District Court sentenced the local man who inflicted bodily harm on "Misto" cameraman Mykola Yurkovsky to 200 hours of community service. The judgement was issued on January 11, 2024.

The incident occurred on May 8, 2023, near the Oasis shopping mall, where the cameraman was filming a story for Europe Day. The convict saw Mykola Yurkovsky filming a Ukrainian flag and another flag, which he, being drunk, mistook to be Russian. This triggered the man's aggression and he threw a portable audio speaker at the cameraman's back, which left cuts on his neck. The attacker also damaged the Mazda car driven by three men who stopped by to help the victim. The attacker threw the same portable audio speaker into the half-open car window and smashed the car's monitor. The convict also attacked the men who tried to hold him down and calm him before the arrival of the police.

The court convicted the man of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Intentded minor bodily injury") and sentenced him to 200 hours of community service. The court also granted the civil claim of the car's owner and collected 107,714.91 hryvnias in property damage in his favor.

The defendant plreaded guilty.

In a comment to the regional representative of the IMI, the cameraman Mykola Yurkovsky said that he withdrew his statement during the pre-trial investigation because the attacker repented and apologized to him. After that, the cameraman took part in the case as a witness, not a victim. Only the owner of the car remained the victim, and the court ruled in his favor.

"I withdrew my statement to the police because that man had others pleading for him and he apologized. I wrote that I had no complaints against him," said Mykola Yurkovsky.

The ruling can still be appealed at the Khmelnytsky Court of Appeal within 30 days from the day it was issued.