Ukrainian servants of Themis running errands for the fugitive ex-national deputy Portnov under sanctions

In 2021, the US imposed sanctions on Portnov. The rationale explains that the former deputy of the People’s Republic of Ukraine established extensive connections with the judicial and law enforcement apparatus of Ukraine through bribery.

The Chesno movement analyzed the court cases in which it appeared, as well as the activities of the judges who made these decisions.

In the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, there are many cases against Portnov, where the same judges repeatedly heard cases and sided with him. Let’s consider a few of them.

In 2019, Andriy Portnov sued Channel 24, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. In the lawsuit, the ex-National Deputy demanded to refute the allegedly false information that was submitted in the "Right to Dignity" program. In particular, the presenter claimed that there was allegedly a criminal proceeding regarding the illegal enrichment of Portnov, which was closed as a result of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. However, the relevant materials remained and can be used to recover funds in civil proceedings.

This case was considered by the judge of the Pechersk District Court Tetyana Ilyeva. She settled the claim. Judges of the Kyiv Court of Appeal, Olena Shkorina, Lyubov Polyvach, and Anatoliy Stryzheus, also sided with Portnov. Subsequently, the Supreme Court overturned this decision of the Pechersk Court and the appellate instance.

Screenshot from the "Judiciary" website

It is known that in 2023, judge Tetyana Ilyeva was suspected of abuse of power and of entering deliberately false information into the decision. Currently, this case is being considered in court. According to the investigation, the judge made a decision to lift the seizure of 110.7 thousand euros and 9.3 thousand dollars. USA regarding the former vice president of the state company "Bread of Ukraine" Andriy Mykhaniv. She referred to the alleged ownership of these funds not to the accused in the case, but to a completely different person.

In this case, the Supreme Council of Justice refused to temporarily suspend Ilyeva from working in the court. In addition, in 2014, Tetyana Ilyeva released the ex-head of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine and former People’s Deputy of the VRU of the 8th convocation from the "Opposition Bloc" Yevhen Bakulin on bail of 10 million hryvnias instead of 1.5 billion.

In 2023, Portnov sued CPC, Focus Media LLC and Optik Global Group. In the lawsuit, he demanded that the statement that he is a pro-Russian activist, collaborator, traitor, accomplice of Russia be recognized as implausible information, to whom personal sanctions should be applied. At that time, the case was considered by the judge of the Pechersk Court, Serhiy Vovk, who sided with Portnov.

Judges of the Kyiv Court of Appeal Kryzhanivska, Onyshchuk and Shpyruk also supported the decision of the first instance. Consideration of the case continues.

Screenshot from the "Judiciary" website

It is known that in 2019, judge Serhiy Vovk decided to collect almost 7 million hryvnias from the state budget in favor of Portnov. Portnov sued the Ministry of Justice and the State Treasury for damage to his reputation.

In addition, judge Serhiy Vovk satisfied Anatoly Shary’s lawsuit against "Ukrainian Pravda". He demanded to recognize improbable information: "The blogger, who used to be ordered by PR bonzes in the war with each other, is now taking away from former customers a part of their electorate in the basic regions of OPFL."

In 2015, the judge was temporarily removed from office, in 2016 he was reinstated in the court. According to the prosecutor’s office, in 2015, a judge illegally deprived a citizen of his right to property.

In 2020, Andriy Portnov appealed to the "Schemes" project and other media people. In the lawsuit, he asked to admit improbable information about his involvement in setting fire to the car of the driver of the film crew of the journalistic investigation program "Scheme" and his threats to the editorial office. The case was considered by the judge of the Pechersk Court Oleksiy Sokolov. He also satisfied Portnov’s claim for protection of honor and dignity.

The above-mentioned judges of the appellate instance Olena Shkorina, Lyubov Polyvach and Anatoliy Stryzheus supported Portnov. In the project of journalistic investigations, "Schemes" noted that they will appeal this decision.

Screenshot from the "Judiciary" website

Also, the judge of the Pechersk Court Oleksiy Sokolov sided with Portnov in the case of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, when he sued against the " European Solidarity " party. The Exnardep asked to recognize the improbable information: "Despite the secrecy of the investigation, the materials of the "sailors’ case" were handed over to Mr. Portnov, who then passed this information on to the Russian Federation, specifically to the permanent representative of the Russian Federation at the UN.

In addition, the judge ordered the former People’s Deputy and currently the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, to pay 50,000 moral compensation and to deny all allegations against the member of the Supreme Council of Justice, Pavlo Hrechkivskyi. Then Lubinets called him "odious" and "repeatedly and illegally elected member of the High Council of Justice."

According to the Public Integrity Council, judge Oleksiy Sokolov repeatedly violated the deadlines for sending court decisions to the state register. Some cases appeared in the register a year or two later than the date of decision. He also delayed consideration of the complaint of Roman Ratushny, the defender of the capital’s Protasiv Yar tract, who died in 2022 in a battle near the city of Izyum in Kharkiv region, having fallen into an enemy ambush. He was a scout of the 93rd mechanized brigade "Kholodny Yar".

Sokolov allowed significant discrepancies in the information provided in the property declarations. The judge has several times unjustifiably failed to declare his property or a family member in a timely manner. His ex-wife also works at the Kyiv Court of Appeal.

In 2024, Portnov sued the Chesno Movement for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. Ex-Nardep demanded to remove him from the Register of traitors and to refute improbable information about him. The case was considered by the judge of the Pechersk Court, Vyacheslav Pidpalyi. He also announced a decision in favor of Portnov. Earlier, Chesno announced that he would file an appeal.

Screenshot from the "Judiciary" website

It is noteworthy that Pidpalyi allowed the General Prosecutor’s Office access to messages and calls from the phones of the journalists of the "Schemes" project Nataliya Sedletska and Khrystyna Berdynska from the NV publication. Also according to Portnov’s lawsuit. Then the ECtHR found this to be a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In addition, the judge chose a milder preventive measure for Viktor Medvedchuk, ex-Nardeput - house arrest. While the prosecutor asked for detention with the possibility of a bail of 300 million hryvnias. We will remind that Medvedchuk is suspected of high treason and attempted looting of national resources in Crimea.

In 2014, criminal proceedings were registered against Pidpaly regarding the deliberately unjust decision to cancel the seizure of the property of First Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov and his wife. In addition, in 2022, the British Foreign Ministry stated that the Russian special services maintain ties with many former Ukrainian politicians, in particular with Arbuzov.

The list of judges in these cases is not exhaustive. Human Rights Platform lawyer Roman Vasylnyak notes that similar decisions are made by judges who understand that they will not bear responsibility for it, because impunity leads to permissiveness. In practice, you can get a legal decision on a case only at the level of the Supreme Court, but for this you need to spend a lot of effort and time.

"In August 2023, I filed a complaint against the actions of judge Vyacheslav Pidpalyi, who for three years did not release the full text of the court decision to the journalists of "Dzerkalo Tyzhnia" for further appeal, and in a year the Supreme Council of Justice has not given me a single answer. Such work of the VRP gives judges confidence in their impunity," Vasylnyak emphasizes.

The Chesno Movement sent a request to the High Council of Justice (HCJ) regarding the number of complaints filed against the above-mentioned judges, in order to find out how many people complained about them and what decisions were made by the HJC.

Published in the edition of Ruhu Chesno