The defense of the former head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, denies violations of the preventive measure during his trips to frontline regions. This was stated by the press secretary of Andriy Yermak's defense team, Natalia Novikova, reports UNN.
Statement of the defense side
"The defense side regards the recently circulated publications about Andriy Yermak's trips to frontline territories as an information manipulation aimed at public pressure on the pre-trial investigation and procedural decisions in the case. The manipulation mechanism is simple. The official response of NABU, which contains no assertion of a violation, is combined with messages from anonymous sources - and presented as an allegedly established violation," Novikova stated.
The defense side notes that in fact, the obligations imposed by the court relate exclusively to territorial movement, and each departure was made on the basis of a permit obtained in advance. Neither the pre-trial investigation body, nor the prosecutor, nor the court have claimed any violation.
"Regardless of the intentions of the authors, the effect of such publications is obvious: to create an informational pretext for restricting the professional activities of a lawyer who provides legal assistance to military personnel, and to replace the procedural order with a media verdict. When legal assistance to those who fight is portrayed as an offense, it undermines not Andriy Yermak's position, but the independence of the bar and the access of military personnel to the protection of their rights. The defense side is convinced: procedural decisions in this case are and will be made based on the law, not publications," Novikova stated.
Yermak's defense called on the media and participants in the public discussion to distinguish between officially confirmed facts and value judgments.
Context
Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Center "Mezha" stated that it had appealed to NABU with a request on what grounds Andriy Yermak was allowed to leave Kyiv, since the court imposed on him the obligation not to leave Kyiv without the permission of a detective, prosecutor, or court.
In response to the center's request, NABU reported that on July 13, Yermak's lawyer filed a motion for permission to visit Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The trip was justified by Yermak's participation as a lawyer in the events of the "Lawyer+" project.
As claimed by "Mezha," the motion was accompanied by 5 identical letters of appeal from military units, in which commanders addressed Yermak directly and asked him to personally take part in receiving military personnel to provide legal assistance until July 24.
At the same time, as stated by "Mezha," on July 16, Yermak met with the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi – precisely during the period when he was supposed to provide consultations.
Recall that on July 16, the publication "UP" reported, citing sources, that the former head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, visited the command post of the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, in one of the frontline regions on the evening of July 16.