Page 32 - Report on the infringement of rights and guarantees of attorneys in Ukraine

CRIMINAL
PROSECUTION
OF ATTORNEYS

Oleksandr Chibirdin, Volodymyr Liushyk, Oleksandr Serhiienko
attorneys 49

All three not only officially became suspected persons, they were also detained by
law-enforcement agencies.

Ihor Povkh
attorney

In December 2016, the UNBA received an appeal from an attorney, who reported that a
criminal case had been fabricated against him and a notice of an offence had been
served. The attorney provided copies of certain materials of the criminal proceedings and
evidence that some procedural documents in the case contained elements of forgery by
an official. Initiation of prosecution of the attorney was motivated by revenge on the part
of officials of the local prosecutor's office for the attorney’s principled stance in a number
of high-profile cases. At the same time, during a private conversation with representatives
of the prosecution, attorney Povkh was told that the purpose of the criminal prosecution
was to deprive him of his right to practice law once he was convicted.

Olha Prosyanyuk, Oleksandr Horosynskyi
attorneys of former president Viktor Yanukovych

On 7 February 2018, the attorneys arrived to take part in criminal proceedings, in which
Ivan Anhelin, public defender, also participated (at the court’s initiative). However, after
being involved in a dispute with the judge and representatives of the prosecutor's office,
the attorneys were removed from the courtroom by police officers. After that, the
Prosecutor- General's Office initiated criminal proceedings against Yanukovych's
attorneys at the request of MP Mustafa Nayyem based on facts of pressure on the
specified attorney, Ivan Anhelin. Although Bar self-government bodies held a special
meeting devoted to this situation, they concluded that there was no pressure exerted on
attorney Ivan Anhelin, to the contrary – pressure was put on attorneys O. Prosyanyuk and
O. Horoshynskyi, criminal prosecution of the attorneys was not terminated . The special
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circumstance of the incident is the direct interference of MP Nayyem from the
pro-presidential party Petro Poroshenko Bloc, who de facto initiated criminal proceedings
against the attorneys . The Ukrainian Bar Association responded promptly on the
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inadmissibility of pressure on attorneys .
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