The case against Sytnyk was conducted with a violation of the right to a fair trial, - ECHR

The case against Sytnyk was conducted with a violation of the right to a fair trial, - ECHR

The European Court of Human Rights determined that the right to a fair trial was violated during the examination of the corruption case against the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Artem Sytnyk.

This was reported by the Court’s press service.

The case concerned proceedings initiated against Sytnyk for receiving undue advantage, specifically the undeclared payment for his vacation in the Rivne region.

In December 2019, the then director of NABU was found guilty and required to pay a fine, and his name was indefinitely added to the public register of corrupt officials.

The judges of the European Court of Human Rights unanimously found violations of Article 6, paragraph 1 (right to a fair trial), Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), and Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Court’s decision indicated that the Ukrainian courts relied "on the contradictory testimony of a single person about the vacation and related expenses," while they did not consider the defense’s arguments and the testimonies of his witnesses.

"Also, his concerns about the impartiality of the judge of the first instance court, who made the decision in the case, were not addressed," added the ECHR press service.