Law enforcers must check information on possible bribery of Supreme Court judges in case of FSB agent Shepelev - expert

Law enforcement agencies are obliged to check the information about the possible bribery of the Supreme Court judges who considered the appeal against the verdict in the case of the escape from custody of the former FSB agent, accused of a series of contract killings and high treason, presented in the media. This opinion was expressed by political analyst Oleksandr Kochetkov in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

The media reported about the possible bribery of Supreme Court judges Vyacheslav Marynych, Volodymyr Korol and Alla Makarovets, who considered the appeal against Shepelev's sentence and changed it in favor of the former MP, almost releasing him. Hryhoriy Mamka, an MP from the banned Opposition Platform For Life, is allegedly involved in this.

"We are obliged to. Any information that relates to a violation of the law, even if it is anonymous, and even more so if it is published by an official publication, is subject to verification, it is spelled out in the law on law enforcement, the criminal code - all laws clearly state this. But in Ukraine, law enforcement agencies often neglect this duty, and even more so during the war," Kochetkov said when asked whether law enforcement agencies should verify information in the media about possible bribery of Supreme Court judges.

In his opinion, law enforcement agencies are obliged to investigate, give a reasoned opinion on the information provided and open criminal proceedings if necessary.

When asked which law enforcement agency should investigate such a case, Kochetkov said: "NABU and the SBI and SAPO - they can organize a joint group, they can do it separately, or better, they can do it together.

At the same time, the expert believes that such a small number of cases against bribe-taking judges in Ukraine is due to the fact that law enforcement officers do not fulfill their duties.

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Kateryna Butko, head of the public council at the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), believes that the Supreme Court needs to be reformed and cleared of dishonest judges, so that cases like Shepelev's will be considered transparently and efficiently. 

Lawyer and executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Oleksandr Pavlichenko told UNNthat the High Council of Justice is tasked with forming an independent judicial system in Ukraine without political influence.

Volodymyr Vatras, chairman of the subcommittee on the organization and activities of the Bar and legal aid bodies of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, also stated that the Supreme Court should be cleared of judges who have compromised themselves.

Recall 

A panel of the Supreme Court changed Shepelev's sentence in the escape from custody case and tried to release him. Judges Vyacheslav Marynych, Volodymyr Korol and Alla Makarovets decided to close one of the episodes of the case, which concerned bribery, due to what they considered insufficient evidence. As a result, the property of the former MP will not be confiscated under this episode . Although, according to experts interviewed by UNN, the Supreme Court judges did not have the right to directly examine any evidence.

In addition, the judges counted the period of Shepelev's stay in the Russian pre-trial detention center as part of the sentence. He was detained in Russia following an extradition request from Ukraine. A year later, Russia refused to extradite the fugitive ex-MP to Ukraine, citing threats to its own national security. It turned out that Shepelev was valuable to Russia because he was an FSB agent and a game player.

The Supreme Court panel also used the Savchenko law and counted Shepeleva's stay in the pre-trial detention center on charges in other cases as part of his sentence. 

The prosecutor appealed the actions of the Supreme Court judges to the HCJ.

According to the automatic distribution , the complaint in Shepelev's case will be considered by the first-ever HCJ member who fought at the front against Russia, Olena Kovbiy.