The Dniprovskyi District Court of Zaporizhzhia has convicted a former Ukrainian police officer who, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, sided with the occupying forces and took part in the abduction and torture of civilians.

On December 22, the court handed down a guilty verdict, sentencing him to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Background of the convicted man

Oleksandr Valeriyovych Dedushev was born on November 2, 1992, in the village of Yakymivka, Zaporizhzhia region. Before the full-scale invasion, he served as a senior inquiry officer at the Yakymivka Police Department of the Melitopol District Police Directorate.

He worked in Ukraine’s internal affairs and police bodies for more than 11 years, from 2010 to 2022, and held the rank of police captain.

After Russian forces occupied Yakymivka in late February 2022, Dedushev remained in the occupied territory and began cooperating with the occupying authorities.

Siding with the occupiers

Former colleagues testified in court that Dedushev cooperated with the occupiers voluntarily.

The head of the Yakymivka district police department stated that on February 24, 2022, he ordered all personnel to evacuate to Melitopol and to leave the occupied territory by April 15.

Those who wished to leave were able to do so, and many officers successfully evacuated. Dedushev, however, chose to stay. On April 8, 2022, he met with local residents near the district police station and encouraged other officers to work for the occupation authorities, assuring them that “everything would remain the same.”

Between February 25 and July 2022, he voluntarily assumed the position of acting head of the Criminal Investigation Department in the occupation-controlled “Yakymivka District Police Department.” From July to September 2022, he served as deputy head of the department of district police officers.

This illegal law enforcement body was established by the occupiers on the basis of the Ukrainian Yakymivka Police Department and staffed by officers who remained in the occupied territory and agreed to collaborate.

Intercepted phone calls recorded by Ukrainian law enforcement showed Dedushev discussing with the leadership of the occupation “police” the preparation of lists of former ATO combatants, the punishment of detainees, and other organizational matters. He also bragged to former colleagues who had relocated to Zaporizhzhia about receiving a high salary from the occupiers.

Criminal acts

The most serious crimes were committed in August 2022, when Dedushev acted jointly with Russian military personnel. Their aim was to identify and persecute residents holding pro-Ukrainian views.

• The first case was on August 9, 2022

At around 6 a.m., Dedushev and five Russian soldiers arrived in military vehicles at an apartment in the village of Volodymyrivka, where a woman lived whom the occupiers suspected of cooperating with Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

Following an illegal search, they pulled a sweatshirt over her head, wrapped it with tape, and bound her hands with a plastic zip tie. She was forced into the back of a KAMAZ truck and taken to a former traffic police building in Melitopol, where she was unlawfully detained for three days. There, she was interrogated about her pro-Ukrainian views and threatened.

The victim identified Dedushev, whom she had known since 2015, when she had previously contacted the police regarding a theft.

• The second case took place on the same day

Around 7 a.m., Dedushev and the same group of soldiers arrived at a house in the village of Yurkivka, where two men were staying. Dedushev personally knew one of them, as they were from the same village.

The reason for the raid was a video found on the phone of one man’s wife, showing the men singing the Ukrainian patriotic song “Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow.”

Inside the house, the men were forced to kneel. Dedushev and a Russian soldier beat them with fists, kicked them, and struck them with rifle butts to the face, torso, and legs, while threatening to kill them. Their eyes were covered, their hands were tied behind their backs with plastic zip ties, and they were thrown into the back of a KAMAZ truck.

During the transport to Melitopol, Russian soldiers continued to kick them and threatened them with a knife.

The men were held in a commandant’s office for more than three days, where they were repeatedly beaten, threatened with death, and forced to learn and sing a Russian song. When the captors were dissatisfied with the recorded video of their singing, the beatings resumed. The video later appeared on occupation-run Telegram channels.

• The third case - August 22, 2022

Two weeks after their release, Dedushev returned to the same house.

This time, the victims were forced to stand facing a wall. Dedushev kicked each of them several times in the legs and struck them at least four times with his fists in the kidney and rib areas.

During the assault, he expressed hostility toward their pro-Ukrainian stance and demanded that they support Russia and recognize the authority of the Russian Federation in the occupied territory.

Sentence

The court found Dedushev guilty under three articles of Ukraine’s Criminal Code:

• High treason (Article 111, Part 2) — siding with the enemy during an armed conflict under martial law;
• Voluntary service in occupation authorities (Article 111-1, Part 7);
• Cruel treatment of civilians committed by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy (Article 28, Part 2; Article 438, Part 1).

He was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of all property.

The trial was conducted under special court proceedings (in absentia), as the accused is currently believed to be in the temporarily occupied territory.

According to witness testimony, Dedushev continues to cooperate with the occupation administration, reportedly serving as the so-called head of the Kyrylivka “police” department.