Vitalii Markiv
Vitalii Mykhailovych Markiv (; born August 16, 1989) is a former Ukrainian deputy commander of the General Serhiy Kulchytsky, back then illegal by laws of Ukraine, Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine. He was convicted by an Italian court to 24 years of imprisonment for allegedly directing mortar fire that killed Russian dissident and journalist Andrei Mironov and Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli near the city of Sloviansk. His conviction was eventually overturned, and he was exonerated on appeal on November 3, 2020. The Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy fully acquitted Markiv on December 9, 2021. Early life . Vitalii Markiv was born on August 16, 1989 in the city of Khorostkiv of Ternopil region in West Ukraine. At the age of 16 he moved to Italy with his sister and became an Italian citizen. He returned to Ukraine at the end of 2013 to take part in the demonstrations and the 2014 Euromaidan revolution. Participation in the war in Donbas. In 2014 Markiv joined the National Guard of Ukraine and took part in the Battles for Sloviansk. He is a deputy platoon commander in the General Serhiy Kulchytsky Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine. Investigation and trial  in Italy. Markiv was accused of killing Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli near the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk region, in May 2014 and was arrested during a trip in Italy, June 30, 2017. Angelo Napolitano, Chief of the Penitentiary Police, reported that Markiv was planning to escape from prison, therefore he was transferred to Opera prison in 2017. After the court hearing on 8 February 2019, the interpreter, a Ukrainian woman, who had to translate from Ukrainian to Italian, such as the transcription of environmental wiretapping in prison, renounced the translation assignment. Markiv's attorney requests the cancellation of all work  done by the woman during the trial. A year later, a witness declared that she became aware of the real reasons behind the translator's abandonment of the job, declaring that the latter would have been threatened in a telephone call by an unknown person, in Ukrainian language, who would have asked her to retract their translations. On 12 July 2019, a court in the Italian city of Pavia sentenced Markiv to 24 years in prison for involvement in the death of Italian photo reporter Andrea Rocchelli in the Donbas region in May 2014. The ruling was criticized for being  based on unclear evidence. Raffaele Della Valle, the lawyer of Markiv, had claimed his complete innocence and declared that he is going to appeal the tribunal sentence, he will have to file for appeal within ninety days of the publication of the sentence motivations by the Tribunal of Pavia. On November 3, 2020, the Milan Court of Appeal, while holding the Ukrainian armed forces guilty of the murder of the journalists, overturned the sentence of Pavia Court and acquitted Vitalii Markiv of all charges, "for not having committed the fact". The following day Markiv returned to Ukraine.<ref name="kyiv/30930248">Ukrainian Ex-Fighter  Acquitted In 2014 Killing Of Italian Journalist Returns To Kyiv, Radio Free Europe (4 November 2020)</ref> On February 16, 2021, the Attorney General's Office of Milan stated that will appeal the second degree acquittal of Vitalii Markiv. On December 9, 2021 the Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy fully acquitted Markiv. Reaction in Ukraine and abroad. According to the Ukrainian investigation, the journalists were killed in a shelling conducted by the "Russian-backed terrorist forces". Journalist Paul Gogo, who worked in Sloviansk during the time of shelling, described the decision of the court as "mind-blowing" and such  as based on false testimonies. According to Paul Gogo the Italian court proceeding was politicized and investigation wasn't done properly. The Advisor to the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, People's Deputy from the People's Front faction, Anton Herashchenko said the detention in Italy of Markiv, a deputy commander of a battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine, on suspicion of murdering an Italian photojournalist might be another provocation by the Russian special services. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine expressed concern about the arrest of Vitaly Markiv. As per ex-chief prosecutor  of Ukraine Yevhen Yenin Ukrainian prosecution for three years tried to persuade Italian prosecution to visit the place of death to conduct a thorough examination, however Italian prosecution denied such proposal. According to the Ukrainian prosecution Markiv wasn't able to see or identify Rocchelli from his position. On July 25, 2019, during the phone conversation with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed an importance of unbiased investigation of the Andrea Rocchelli death and offered legal assistance from Ukraine in conducting a thorough joint examination of the circumstances of Rocchelli's death. The conviction of Markiv by  Italian court was compared with conviction of Nadiya Savchenko by Russian court, also for allegedly directing mortar fire that killed journalists. Indictment in Russia. On 11 December 2020, the Moscow Basmanny district Court issued indictment of Vitaliy Markiv in absentia of the murder of the two journalists The return to Ukraine. After his release, Vitalii Markiv returned to serve in the National Guard of Ukraine. Artem Shevchenko presented a documentary film about Markiv, called "Pozyvnoy Ital’yanets" ("Callsign Italian"), produced with the collaboration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.