The suspect’s lawyers accused Judge Tsytkich of illegally declaring a person wanted

The suspect’s lawyers accused Judge Tsytkich of illegally declaring a person wanted

While Ukraine is fighting for its independence, while the best sons and daughters of the country risk their lives daily at the frontline, "dark dealings" continue in the capital by people who should be upholding the law.

Judicial arbitrariness and a sense of absolute impunity are gaining momentum. The latest egregious case was the "convenient" verdict by Vitaliy Tsytkich, a judge of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Kyiv, who, violating all possible legal norms and common sense, unjustifiably declared Nataliya Ivanchykova wanted.

Who is judge Vitaliy Tsytkich? This is the same person who reinstated the "Tomos case," judged Euromaidan participants and, most intriguingly, has a wife who is a Russian citizen. With such a track record, it’s hardly surprising why his decisions increasingly reek of selective justice.

How Tsytkich fabricated the wanted notice

Ukrainian citizen Nataliya Ivanchykova was accused in a case under Part 2 of Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In February 2022, she left the country and settled in Paris. Judge Tsytkich was aware of this. It was decided that court hearings would be conducted via videoconference, and everything seemed to be proceeding according to protocol.

But suddenly, the judge decided to do things his own way. The hearing was scheduled for December 11, 2024, but Ivanchykova only found out about this date by accident – not from the court, but from her own lawyer, Dina Dryzhakova. She never received any summons in the official court system. What is this if not a deliberate violation of the law?

When Ivanchykova, having learned about the hearing, filed a motion to postpone it due to a work-related trip (documented by plane tickets), the judge simply ignored it. Moreover, learning that the woman would physically be unable to join via video link, Tsytkich immediately instructed prosecutor Danylo Makarchuk to prepare a motion to declare her wanted and take her into custody. Naturally, he himself granted this motion!

The fact that Ivanchykova was not evading hearings but, on the contrary, participated in court sessions online was not even taken into account. Moreover, the judge didn’t even bother to verify her actual place of residence abroad. Instead, he altered her "alleged" address in the documents to create the illusion that she was in hiding.

Lawlessness has become the norm for judge Tsytkich

This is not just a violation of procedural norms – it’s a conscious abuse of power, an attempt to circumvent the law and crack down on a person who obstructs the implementation of a corrupt scheme.

Now Nataliya Ivanchykova and her lawyer Dina Dryzhakova are demanding the annulment of the court’s decision and her removal from the wanted list. And this is a completely justified demand, as there are simply no grounds for her being wanted.

This case is yet another reminder that while some Ukrainians are fighting for democracy, others, like Vitaliy Tsytkich and Danylo Makarchuk, cynically abuse their positions, twisting the law to their advantage. How many more judicial tyrannies must we endure before the system truly works to protect citizens rather than select "privileged" individuals?

Author: Maryna Kravchenko