Sheremet murder trial: Antonenko to remain in custody, appeals court rules

Antonenko will remain in custody, appeals court rules / Photo from UNIAN

Kyiv's Court of Appeals has ruled to extend the arrest of former Donbas war volunteer and musician AKA "Riffmaster" Andrii Antonenko, a suspect in the murder case of journalist Pavel Sheremet.

Read alsoSheremet murder trial: Antonenko to remain in custody, court rulesToday, March 31, the appeals court panel rejected the motion filed by Antonenko's lawyers against the March 23 ruling of Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky district court, which extended his detention for 60 days, an UNIAN correspondent reported.

Thus, Antonenko will remain in custody until May 21.

Sheremet murder case: Details

• The journalist was assassinated in a car blast in the center of Kyiv on the morning of July 20, 2016.
• On December 12, 2019, police said they suspected five persons of complicity in the crime: former Donbas war volunteer and musician Andrii Antonenko, army volunteer and pediatric surgeon Yulia Kuzmenko (nom de guerre "Lysa," or "Fox"), and nurse with a paratrooper unit Yana Duhar.
• Kuzmenko is under round-the-clock house arrest wearing a GPS-tracking ankle monitor, while Duhar is assigned to additional procedural obligations.