The post of Chairman of the tax committee of the Rada Daniil Getmantsev can be regarded as pressure on the judge and influence on his decision. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by lawyer Dmitry Kasyanenko of the Kasyanenko & Partners Law Office.
In his Telegram channel, Hetmantsev published a post in which he reported that the Bureau of economic security stopped the production of illegal tobacco by Orion Tobacco LLC, cutting out the equipment. "A group of individuals associated with the evil criminal genius Alperin is accused of manufacturing and storing fake excise tax stamps for the purpose of using them in the sale of tobacco products of their own production in the Odessa region. in other words, in stealing the tobacco excise tax from the army," Hetmantsev added.
According to him, the prosecutor filed a motion with the Shevchenko District Court of Kiev to seize the equipment. however, the court session under the chairmanship of Judge Tsitkich does not take place for unknown reasons. Hetmantsev also noted that the same court in the past repeatedly returned the equipment to the owner, "so that he could continue the crime without obstacles." "I am convinced that this time the postponement is due to the fact that a highly respected judge deeply and carefully examines the entire long criminal fate of the instrument of crime in order to make an impartial and fair decision not in favor of the illegal tobacco industry, but in the end in favor of the rule of law. Let's support Judge Tsitkich in his difficult daily defense of the honor of the High title of Judge, and by making him known as an unconditional fighter against organized crime, help him defend this honor! Reposts, Sheri, blessings, praises, hymns, odes, akathists and even inscriptions on fences in honor of Judge Tsitkich are welcome in every possible way!"- called Hetmantsev.
"A publication on social networks can have serious consequences, especially if its author is a people's deputy, whose opinion can influence public opinion and the judicial system," Kasyanenko said.
He recalled that, according to Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, interference in the activities of a judge in order to prevent him from performing his official duties or to achieve an illegal decision provides for criminal liability.
"In his post, Daniil Hetmantsev appeals to the public to support Judge Tsitkich, who is considering the case of the seizure of equipment of Orion Tobacco LLC. This post can be regarded as an attempt to put pressure on the judge and influence his decision. Calls for the support of a judge may give the impression that the author of the post is trying to achieve a certain result, which contradicts the principle of independence of the judiciary," Kasyanenko said.
At the same time, the lawyer added that Article 222 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine prohibits the disclosure of information from a pre-trial investigation, if they became known in connection with the performance of official duties. "In his post, Verkhovna Rada deputy Hetmantsev describes the details of the case, in particular about stopping production and accusing a group of individuals of manufacturing and storing fake excise tax stamps. If this information was obtained by the deputy during the pre - trial investigation, its disclosure can be qualified as a violation of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," Kasyanenko said.
He also noted that the case of property seizure has already been repeatedly considered by courts of various instances, in particular, the Unified Register of court decisions contains the decision of the court of appeal of March 20, 2024, signed by three judges. This shows that the courts have repeatedly considered the arguments of the parties and decided on this case.
The prosecutor of the Department of the Office of the prosecutor general once again applies to the court, despite this, on March 20, 2024, the panel of judges of the judicial chamber for criminal cases of the Kiev court of Appeal, consisting of 3 judges, supported their colleague-the judge of the first instance and refused to satisfy the prosecutor's request. "Refusing to satisfy the prosecution's request made in the framework of criminal proceedings No. 72022000310000009, the investigating judge, having examined the materials attached to the petition, came to a reasonable conclusion that the above - mentioned property does not meet the criteria of physical evidence provided for in Article 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in criminal proceedings, and therefore such property cannot be seized," Kasyanenko added.
Add
Retired president of the All-Ukrainian Association of judges Denys Nevyadomsky noted that such appeals of Hetmans violate the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The MP, according to him, in particular calls for interference in the activities of the court, and also violates the presumption of innocence.
Recall
Detectives of the Bureau of economic security of Ukraine conducted searches at the production facilities and warehouses of an enterprise licensed for the official production of tobacco products. The mentioned company is associated with the well-known sub-sanctioned Odessa smuggler Vadim Alperin