Hennady Korban’s lawyers Andriy Bogdan and Oksana Tomchuk, as well as Igor Cherezov, who is the defender of Oleg Martynov, a suspect in Korban’s case, have come to the 3rd investigation department of the Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv. They were summoned as witnesses within the criminal proceedings on their creating conditions facilitating the activities of a criminal group allegedly organized by Hennady Korban. Lawyers were accompanied by the journalists, MP Andriy Denysenko and about two dozen of their colleagues.
According to Andriy Bogdan, summons for interrogation are related in particular to the fact that on January 28 the High Council of Justice will consider dismissal of the judge of Dniprovsk District Court Mykola Chaus who has made the illegal decision on Hennady Korban’s arrest. The politician’s lawyers are going to take an active part in this meeting. “We are actively providing documents (on Mykola Chaus’ violations – Ed.) and this is a sign from the law enforcement that we should keep the judge Chaus on,” said the lawyer Bogdan before interrogation.
Igor Cherezov was the first to be interrogated. His interrogation was scheduled for 10.00, but started almost an hour later. During this time the investigator was trying to slow down, refusing to start questioning and to file an order of refusal. That is why the lawyers called the police and investigation team, which arrived to the Prosecutor’s Office in order to carry out investigatory actions on the crime committed by the investigator of Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office O. Nedilko. In particular, as Hennady Korban’s lawyer Oksana Tomchuk reported, it involved neglect of duty, excess of power and interference in defence. The lawyers insisted that the investigator Nedilko should be detained.
According to the lawyers, under the procedure interrogation should be started with investigator’s informing about the case within which it is carried out. Until the arrival of the police, lawyers have not received any official document determining the criminal proceedings within which the questioning was to be held. After the police had arrived, the investigator had to provide the relevant excerpt from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. Then it became clear that the lawyers had to be questioned within Korban’s case in which they are defenders. And this is prohibited by law. In addition, during interrogation the prosecutors tried to get from the lawyers the information that belongs to professional secrecy. So with arrival of the investigation team the lawyers made a statement on investigator’s committing the crime and breaking professional secrecy.
In his turn, the MP and the member of inter-faction union UKROP Andriy Denysenko has written on his Facebook page that the investigator Nedilko said that even the new police could not make him to start lawyers’ interrogation, though it was appointed by his summons. “This know-how of Poroshenko’s repressive machine has the only analogy in the history – lawyers were imprisoned and shot dead only by the Bolsheviks under Lenin and Stalin,” wrote the MP.
The interrogation of Hennady Korban’s lawyer Oksana Tomchuk was appointed at 11.30, after that the investigator had to question the defender Andriy Bogdan.
