I didn't want to, but I was forced: the court heard strange arguments of the lawyer in the Kuzminykh case
Kyiv • UNN
In court, Kuzminykh's lawyer stated that covert investigative actions against people's deputies are impossible. The defense also believes that the people's deputy became a victim of NABU provocations.
During the court hearing in the case of bribery charges against People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh, his defense demonstrated an amazing interpretation of Ukrainian legislation. The MP's lawyer, Volodymyr Krasovskyi, suddenly stated that covert investigative actions cannot be admissible evidence, because they allegedly cannot be carried out against parliamentarians. In addition, the defense is trying to portray Kuzminykh almost as a victim of a special operation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), writes UNN.
During the court hearing lawyer Volodymyr Krasovskyi emphasized that the data of covert investigative actions, as well as operational-search actions, are inadmissible evidence, because, according to him, they cannot be carried out against a people's deputy. This position surprised the judge.
Are you claiming that it is generally impossible to carry out (operational-search activities – ed.) against a people's deputy, or is it possible to carry out in the manner prescribed by the CPC?
To which the lawyer emphasized: "It is generally impossible to carry out".
It is worth recalling that with the coming to power of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in 2019 and the reformatting of the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada removed immunity from people's deputies.
In addition, the main argument of the defense regarding Serhiy Kuzminykh's receipt of a bribe is that an agent of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) under the pseudonym Sikorska Kateryna constantly provoked the MP to receive illegal benefits. She allegedly constantly called and wrote to the MP.
We are recording three active actions of a law enforcement agent, who was supposed to behave passively, not offer, not encourage, but only passively record information
According to him, the NABU agent allegedly encouraged Kuzminykh to act, and when the MP allegedly did not call her back, she called him herself. Although, according to the investigation, it was Serhiy Kuzminykh who called the agent. The lawyer claims that Kuzminykh was almost forcibly involved in committing a crime for the sake of "operative exposure" of the MP.
So, a logical question arises: if Serhiy Kuzminykh, according to the defense, did not intend to receive illegal benefits and acted exclusively in good faith, then why did he still take the money? And if the actions of the undercover agent could really have such an impact on the behavior of the parliamentarian, then does such vulnerability meet the moral and ethical standards of a people's deputy of Ukraine?
After listening to part of the arguments of the defense, a break was announced in the session until 2:30 p.m. on July 7.
Let us remind you
People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh was exposed "red-handed" while receiving an illegal benefit of 558,000 hryvnias. According to the investigation, he received funds for assisting in the signing of contracts between private companies and one of the hospitals in the Zhytomyr region for the supply of medical equipment.
At the end of January 2022, NABU recorded the transfer of money and published a video about it. In it, a person with a voice similar to Kuzminykh promises his assistance and adds that he can resolve the issue with all medical institutions in the region.
On January 31, 2022, the then Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a suspicion notice for him.
Serhiy Kuzminykh was not detained due to "deputy immunity", but he ignored interrogations, which is why he was put on the wanted list.
After a few days of "hiding", the MP was finally detained for the election of a preventive measure.
In May 2022, Kuzminykh was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of a bail of 49,600 hryvnias. Of course, the bail was paid for the people's representative.
In September 2022, the indictment in the case against Kuzminykh was sent to the High Anti-Corruption Court for consideration on the merits. Currently, the stage of evidence examination is ongoing. During this time, the MP repeatedly ignored court hearings.