Public activist Kostyantyn Lavrov having fought against MAKO Donetsk Construction Company owned by Oleksandr Yanukovych was sentenced to five-year imprisonment.
Donetsk Voroshylivskyi District Court Judge Kateryna Lahoda pronounced the sentence on 12 August. Ms.Lahoda decided to satisfy the claims of Prosecutor’s Office and sentence Lavrov to five years in jail.
The preliminary 16 July 2012 decision of the Voroshylivskyi District Court containing the same stipulation on five-year imprisonment for Mr.Lavrov was abolished by Donetsk Oblast Appeal Court on 21 January 2013.
READ ALSO: Expert: The number of life sentences in Ukraine increased twice since 2000
Mr.Lavrov intends to take another appeal regarding the new ruling of Donetsk Voroshylivskyi District Court.
The court also decided to uphold the preventive measure for Mr.Lavrov, namely detention in local custody.
Let us remind, Mr.Lavrov was one of the activists of protest actions against MAKO corporation erection of multistory building in place of Druzhba Hotel in Donetsk. The criminal case filed against Mr.Lavrov is based on Article 189, Part 2 (extortion).
READ ALSO: The number of protests has grown 60% since Yanukovych came to power
On 20 June, Mr.Lavrov was arrested on suspicion of USD 7,000 extortion from MAKO employees in exchange for curtailing of protest actions against Druzhba Hotel dismantlement.
Management Assets Company (MAKO) plans to build a 24-story building in place of now dismantled Druzhba Hotel in Donetsk city center. The corporation is presided by Oleksandr Yanukovych, the elder son of the President of Ukraine.
Residents of neighboring houses consider the construction to be illegal and depriving them from building surrounding grounds.
READ ALSO: The Post-Vradiyivka Syndrome
