A hearing on selecting a preventive measure for Serhii Duka, the first deputy head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood of the Security Service of Ukraine, began at the High Anti-Corruption Court on November 6. The proceedings began without media representatives, who had not been informed that the hearing had been moved to another courtroom. At the same time, the issue of holding a closed hearing was not raised. This was reported by a UNN journalist from the scene.
Details
Journalists spent about an hour in Courtroom No. 2, while the hearing on the motion had already begun in another room. In addition, the broadcast was unavailable when the hearing began.
The absence of journalists was explained by the large number of media representatives, the insufficient number of seats in the courtroom, and the need to comply with security measures during the escort. At the same time, while the situation concerning the journalists' denial of access to the courtroom was being discussed, it became clear that the issue of holding the hearing in closed session had not been considered at all.
There is enough space there—in Courtroom No. 9; there is more space there than in the second courtroom. Therefore, I see no obstacles. The issue of whether the court hearing should be open or closed was not raised at all
In response to questions from media representatives about who exactly had made the decision to deny them access to the hearing, the interlocutor replied that he did not know.
I do not know anything about this decision. It is very strange to me because the issue of whether the proceedings should be open or closed was not examined
During the conversation, there was also a promise to raise the issue of media representatives' attendance at the court hearing.
For their part, the journalists said that they had waited for an hour for the hearing to begin in another courtroom. According to them, a court security representative also provided them with contradictory information about where the proceedings were being held.
In particular, a man in uniform said that the hearing was allegedly taking place at a different address, although the prosecutor had previously told the journalists where the proceedings were being held.
According to UNN, the preventive measure for the SBU general is being selected by HACC investigating judge Volodymyr Voronko.
Context
On November 4, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau detained SBU General Serhii Duka as part of the investigation into the "Carthage" case. According to law enforcement officials, the operation exposed a criminal organization whose members, investigators allege, systematically provided improper benefits to high-ranking law enforcement officials in exchange for ensuring the unhindered operation of fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses.
Reminder
Earlier, we reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court considered a motion to select a preventive measure for Volodymyr Tsenov, the first deputy head of the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine, in connection with his involvement in the "Carthage" case.