KYIV, Feb 11 - Ukrainian prosecutors on Monday charged a high-ranking local Kherson official over a deadly acid attack on a prominent anti-corruption activist, BBC reported.

The agony of Kateryna Handzyuk, 33, shocked Ukraine. She died from her burns in November, after 11 operations. She was attacked in July.

Vladyslav Manger, head of the Kherson regional council in southern Ukraine, was charged with organizing the murder.

His lawyer said no evidence had been presented against his client.

Five other suspects are in detention.
Larisa Sargan, spokeswoman for Ukraine's chief prosecutor, said Manger would have to appear before a judge in Kiev on Tuesday to face a detention order.

The indictment accuses Manger of ordering the murder because of "personal hostility towards her for opposing illegal logging" in the region. A guilty verdict could send him to prison for life.

Investigators went to search Manger's home on Monday. His lawyer, Dmitry Ilchenko, said "the prosecution has presented no evidence" for the accusation.

Manger denied knowing Handzyuk personally or having any ties, telling a TV station he was "ready to answer all questions from investigators" and that he was "not going to go anywhere and will fully co-operate with the investigation".

Two other suspects - Sergei Torbin and Nikita Grabchuk - are in pre-trial detention in the case, and three more suspects are under house arrest.

Handzyuk, who was known for her scathing criticism of police corruption, was doused with sulfuric acid outside of her Kherson home on July 31 by an unknown attacker.

Her death comes amid a wave of attacks against Ukraine’s civic activists, with rights campaigners claiming law-enforcement agencies have failed to thoroughly investigate the cases and may even be complicit in some of the attacks.

Handzyuk suffered severe burns to nearly 40 percent of her body and lost sight in one of her eyes after the acid attack, according to doctors who treated her at a burn center in Kyiv.

Police initially listed the case as hooliganism but changed it to attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty after public outcry.

Human rights activists say there were more than 50 assaults on anti-corruption campaigners in Ukraine last year, including five murders. (bbc/ez)