The son of Pryluky head Olha Popenko failed to appeal the suspicion of drug trafficking: the court’s decision remains unchanged

The son of Pryluky head Olha Popenko failed to appeal the suspicion of drug trafficking: the court’s decision remains unchanged

Yaroslav Popenko, the son of Pryluky mayor Olha Popenko, who is suspected of systematic drug trafficking, was denied the cancellation of the suspicion notice. This decision was made by the Chernihiv Court of Appeal on October 15.

This was reported by a correspondent of Suspilne who was present at the hearing.

As a reminder, Yaroslav Popenko was detained on July 16 on suspicion of systematic drug trafficking. On July 18, the Pryluky City and District Court chose a preventive measure for him in the form of detention for two months with the right to post bail in the amount of 242,240 hryvnias. Later, the bail was paid for the suspect.

On September 19, Popenko’s lawyer, Yuriy Zabalskyi, appealed to the Pryluky City and District Court to cancel the suspicion notice. On September 24, the court decided to deny this request. Therefore, the defense lawyer filed a complaint with the Chernihiv Court of Appeal.

The prosecution and defense sides joined the hearing on October 15 via video conference. Popenko himself did not appear at the hearing as he is undergoing treatment. This was reported by his lawyer.

Yuriy Zabalskyi

Yuriy Zabalskyi requested that the appeal be granted.

"A police officer infiltrated Popenko’s circle. He repeatedly encouraged him to jointly use narcotic substances. This is categorically prohibited by the current Criminal Procedure Code. Therefore, I believe that the grounds obtained are clearly and categorically inadmissible. There are no other factual data regarding my client’s involvement in this offense," — comments Yuriy Zabalskyi.

Anatoliy Sukhonos

Prosecutor Anatoliy Sukhonos requested that the appeal not be granted.

"There were corresponding instructions from investigators and operational officers to conduct certain investigative actions. At this stage of the pre-trial investigation, the phase of disclosing materials has been completed. I request to deny the appeal."

The panel of judges did not grant the appeal of the suspect’s lawyer.