High Council of Justice dismissed the judge who received a Russian passport in 2014

High Council of Justice dismissed the judge who received a Russian passport in 2014

The High Council of Justice on Tuesday, December 10, dismissed Judge Lyudmyla Arestova of the Donetsk District Administrative Court, who obtained a passport of the aggressor country, Russia, after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. The reason for the dismissal was cited as "committing a significant disciplinary offense."

The decision was announced on the HCJ website. The announcement stated that Arestova was dismissed based on clause 3 of part 6 of article 126 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

The Third Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice submitted an appeal for the judge’s dismissal, deciding to hold Arestova accountable for disciplinary action and apply a disciplinary sanction in the form of such an appeal.

Clause 3 of part 6 of Article 126 of the Constitution of Ukraine provides that grounds for the dismissal of a judge include committing a significant disciplinary offense, gross or systematic neglect of duties, which is incompatible with the status of a judge or indicates his or her unsuitability for the position, according to the HCJ announcement.

The decision to dismiss from office is not a decision to bring to disciplinary liability but is made on this basis and is therefore personnel-related, the HCJ explained.

What is known about Judge Arestova

In the summer of 2023, journalists from the project "Schemes" reported that Lyudmyla Arestova, according to an extract from the automated system "Rospasport," is a citizen of the Russian Federation.

She obtained the aggressor country’s passport based on the illegal "agreement on the annexation of Crimea to Russia" in 2014, according to which citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons who permanently resided on the peninsula at that time were declared Russian citizens.

According to the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, journalists discovered Arestova’s individual tax number tied to her Russian passport.

Moreover, according to a data leak from Russian flight databases, following the occupation of Crimea in May 2014, Arestova traveled to Moscow for three days using a Russian passport.

In data leaks from databases of Russian medical organizations, "Schemes" found information indicating Arestova’s use of a Russian passport and tax number. The leaked information also mentioned an email address, presumably belonging to Arestova’s son, Maksym.

There is also a mention of Arestova in the database of the Russian medical laboratory "Gemotest," the data breach of which occurred in 2022, resulting in a fine of 60,000 rubles for the institution by a Russian court.

These records indicate that Arestova used her Russian passport data during a coronavirus test.

It was also found that from 2018 to January 2022, she visited occupied Crimea and spent over 250 days there in total.

Arestova herself stated in a comment that she supposedly "does not have Russian citizenship," while suggesting that the passport might have "possibly been issued" to her, like other registered residents of Crimea after the pseudo-referendum.

She explained her trips to the occupied territory as a necessity to visit her parents.

After a conversation with a journalist, lawyer requests from the judge’s husband, Serhiy Vasylyev, demanding information about the journalists investigating the judge, were sent to the "Radio Liberty" editorial office.

Subsequently, Arestova herself sent an inquiry to the publication with questions about the extent of information journalists have about her and demanded the "deletion of the judge’s personal information" obtained by "Schemes."

Journalists, in turn, sent a request to the head of the High Council of Justice, Hryhoriy Usyk, asking if he or HCJ members are aware of the judge’s possible Russian citizenship and whether it could affect the judge’s integrity.

In response, the HCJ reported that it had contacted the Security Service of Ukraine to determine if Judge Arestova indeed has Russian citizenship.