According to her, Sharko had been subjected to questioning for 3 hours. “Although the court had many questions, Sharko could not answer most of them. Notably, he could not counter the charges against him lodged by defendants and witnesses saying the prosecutor had subjected them to harassment and intimidation. Thus, he had threatened with life sentences to defendants, unless they gave testimony suitable for Sharko,” N. Krisman noted.

According to Krisman, the court ordered the oblast prosecutor’s office to launch a probe into alleged abuses of the law by prosecutor Sharko. Complaints of harassment and coercion of defendants were also made against police officers involved in the arrest and pre-trial investigation of the defendants in the case, the defense lawyer added.

The court will reconvene on May 7. “As everything has become clear, I hope the court will finish the case in May,” N. Krisman said.