The Ambassador of Ukraine to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, requested that Spain assume as subsidiary civil liability for the damages caused by the robbery of his residence in Madrid on April 29, 2022, in which cash, jewelry, watches and bags were stolen from him luxury worth more than 300,000 euros. This was requested during the judicial process against the three assailants of his home, of Croatian nationality and who were finally sentenced by the Provincial Court of Madrid to four years in prison for a continued crime of robbery in an inhabited house. They were arrested on May 9, after the National Police established a device to locate the car with which they perpetrated the assault on Pohoreltsev’s house, in a neighborhood with high purchasing power in the capital and whose license plate was collected by cameras near the home.
The ambassador, who appeared as a private accusation on July 15, He came to request the annulment of the actor, when requesting that the State Attorney’s Office appear as subsidiary civil liability for the damages caused, “since the victim is the Embassy of Ukraine, because the house in which the crime was committed is the residence of the ambassador”.
The head of the Ukrainian legation was based on article 30 of the Vienna Convention of 1961, which establishes that the residence of a diplomat “enjoys the same inviolability and protection as the premises of the mission”.
From the Hearing, according to the order to which this newspaper has had access, the petition was dismissed, however, since there were “precluded the procedure, because the order to open the oral trial had been issued previously, there being no place for the retroaction of the actions concerned”.
Inviolability of the ambassador’s residence
“It can be interpreted, in effect, that the inviolability that the Vienna Convention establishes for diplomatic premises extends to the ambassador’s residence,” he explained to El Periódico de España, from the Prensa Ibérica group, Alicia Cebada, Professor of Public International Law at the Carlos III University of Madrid. “However, whether the host State has the obligation to protect the residence of the ambassador, that is another question. I would understand that it would have this obligation when there is information or indications that the inviolability could be compromised by a situation that has to do with national security, but it is difficult for me to think that this obligation reaches protection against robbery, such as the one that was committed in this case & rdquor ;.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 establishes that “by ‘mission premises’ is understood the buildings or parts of buildings, whatever their owner, used for the purposes of the mission, including the residence of the head of the mission”.
A practicing diplomat consulted stresses that the ambassador’s residence is as inviolable as the Embassy, of which it is a part. But he considers it excessive that he requested that the State Attorney’s Office appear as subsidiary civil liability for the damages.
Three women convicted of robbery
The event occurred on April 29, when three women of Croatian nationality, between the ages of 24 and 27, assaulted the house of the Ukrainian ambassador in Spain, located in an area with high purchasing power in the Centro district of Madrid. They took advantage of the fact that there was no one in the house to steal, for half an hour, everything they found in their path: branded bags, watches and luxury clothes, in addition to taking the safe by hand, where there was about 145,000 euros in cash in different currenciesboth euros, dollars or grivnas (Ukrainian national currency).
A few days later, on May 9, 2022, the thieves were arrested by the National Police after perpetrating another robbery in an area also of high standing in the Chamartín district. The Provincial Court has now sentenced the three to four years in prison for a continued crime of robbery in an inhabited house, according to the sentence to which this newspaper had access.
In the assault, the friends of foreign property, who came from the Valencia area, stole 115,500 euros, 30,000 dollars and 4,600 grivnas (equivalent to 115 euros) in cash that were in the safe. This, the branded bags and other accessories for personal use stolen were valued at 30,240 euros by the experts appointed to the judicial procedure. Meanwhile, jewelery and watches were expertly valued at 114,500 euros, although there were numerous valuables that were stolen and could not be appraised.
Related news
In total, according to car, the stolen goods that were appraised and the money in cash amounted to 294,840 euros. from defense of those investigated alleged as a defense the chronic nature of the consumption of narcotic substances by the three defendants, pointing out that they suffered from “borderline personality disorders” or “polydrug addiction”, for which they presented reports prepared in Croatia which, however, were challenged by the Spanish experts.
In addition to the approximately 300,000 euros in money and objects appraised by the expert, others were stolen that could not be valued. Among them was, according to the car, a Chopard Happy Sport watch with a gold case and five diamonds, two Hermes leather belts, a large brown bag, a black Dior bag, a white Bottega Veneta brand, a Hermes Birkin model bag, a Bulgari Serpenti bag, a pink Louis Vuitton bag, a black Dior brand bag, a gold Yves Saint Laurent brand bag, Gucci sneakers and Louboutin brand shoes.