Head of court threatens Cherkasy judge – expert finding
The expert examination of the Ukraine’s Interior Ministry admits that a voice on the audio recording, which threatens judge of the Appeal Court of Cherkasy region Serhiy Bondarenko, belongs to head of the court Volodymyr Babenko.
The Human Rights Information Centre correspondent, who has a copy of the expert finding of the State Research Forensic Center of the Interior Ministry, reports this.
The expert study investigated the audio recording released by lawyer Roman Maselko in March, on which Volodymyr Babenko warned judge Serhiy Bondarenko against pronouncement of true verdict.
The expert examination of the Interior Ministry compared a voice on audio recording with voice of Volodymyr Babenko, which was recorded by media at the press conference in March, and admitted that it was the same voice.
The judicial council appealed to the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine to check whether the actions of the head of the court are subject to disciplinary action. The Commission urged the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine to effectively investigate into criminal proceedings, opened upon reports of judge Bondarenko.
According to lawyer Roman Maselko, Volodymyr Babenko is also a defendant in two criminal cases. One case was opened over the pressure on judges, who pronounced the verdict in the case of two activists during the EuroMaidan protests in Cherkasy. Another case was initiated over the deal involving the court’s premises area of 3600 square meters in area, which were sold to a private company for UAH 89,000.
