Judges accused of corruption mobilise to avoid punishment - "Automaidan"
Judges accused of corruption have found a way to avoid responsibility. They are mobilising, using the provisions of the law to stop their cases.
This is what Kateryna Butko, the head of the "Automaidan", wrote in her column on UP, Censor.NET reports.
According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the court suspends the case if the accused is mobilised into the army. The hearing continues only after he is discharged from service. At the same time, the statute of limitations for prosecution is not suspended, which allows avoiding potential punishment, she noted.
According to media reports, almost 11,000 criminal cases in Ukraine have been suspended due to the mobilisation of the accused. The State Judicial Administration of Ukraine does not keep official statistics.
"Automaidan" has found that the problem has worsened over the past two years, and there are many cases where judges are likely to use mobilisation to delay cases and avoid responsibility.
Thus, Butko gave examples of such cases:
Judge of the Dzerzhynskyi District Court of Kharkiv, Serhii Laziuk
He is accused of two episodes: receiving $500 for an absentee decision in a case to remove obstacles to the use of an apartment and extortion of UAH 75,000 for the recovery of a half-million hryvnia loan. In August 2022, the HACC found him guilty and sentenced him to 7 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The judge's lawyers filed an appeal, and a year later, Laziuk himself was drafted into the army. According to his property declaration, the judge holds the position of chief sergeant-commander of a mortar. The HACC Appeals Chamber suspended the proceedings at the request of the defence counsels.
The statute of limitations in this case will expire next year.
Former head of the Baryshivskyi District Court of Kyiv Region, Oleksandr Lysiuk
He is accused of asking for and receiving UAH 2.5 thousand for the ‘necessary’ decisions in a civil case to recover UAH 1.3 million. He is also accused of extorting UAH 500,000 for making a decision in another case to recover UAH 11 million.
In March 2023, the HACC sentenced Lysiuk to 8.5 years in prison with confiscation of property.
After the verdict, the defence filed an appeal, and in October 2023, Lysiuk himself was mobilised to one of the units of the State Border Guard Service as an officer of the drone control department.
The prosecutor objected to the defence lawyer's motion, stating that the accused had the opportunity to participate in the appeal. At the same time, the command of the military unit informed the court that it would depend on Laziuk's official tasks. The HACC Appeals Chamber decided to suspend the proceedings until Lysiuk's dismissal from military service. The statute of limitations in this case will expire only in 2032, the article says.
Judge of the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa, Illia Lonskyi
According to the prosecution, in 2023, the judge was involved in a corruption scheme and facilitated a positive decision in a case of drunken driving by a military vehicle. He was supposed to help his fellow lawyer Yevhen Berestovyi influence judge Anzhelika Ruseva. He and his lawyer allegedly split the $2,000 bribe between them.
"In May 2024, Lonskyi was mobilised as an ‘electronic warfare operator with UAVs’. The defence of the accused filed a motion to suspend the proceedings. The prosecutor opposed the suspension of the proceedings and stated that there was a small amount of evidence in the case, so it could be heard in several sessions (in particular, searches - 2 hours, covert investigative actions - 2 hours and interrogation of witnesses - 2 hours). The court sent a request to the General Staff to ensure that Lonskyi could participate in the hearings. In response to a request from the military unit, a certificate was received that Lonskyi was in the field and could not participate in meetings via videoconference. As a result, the HACC suspended the proceedings," Butko writes.
Judge Lonskyi is currently suspended from the administration of justice.
Judge of the Dnipropetrovsk District Court of Dnipropetrovsk Region, Lali Novik
She is accused of receiving a bribe of $2,500 for ruling in favour of an individual in a civil case.
In the first instance, right before the verdict, the defence filed a motion to suspend the case, as Judge Novik was planning to be mobilised for military service in the rank of "soldier" and was already in the TCR on the day of the verdict. However, the court rejected the motion and eventually delivered the guilty verdict. Judge Novik was sentenced to 5 years in prison with confiscation of her car and land plot, and the next day she was already mobilised.
As a result, the HACC Appeals Chamber suspended the proceedings.
Judge of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa, Liudmyla Saltan
She is accused of receiving $4,000 for making a decision in a case to recover $14,200 and UAH 15,000 in debt.
It took only 3 months from the detention of the judge to the submission of the indictment to the court. However, after all the evidence had been examined and witnesses interrogated, Saltan's defence lawyer filed a motion to suspend the proceedings due to her mobilisation as a reserve company sailor.
The court addressed the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Main Directorate of the Military Law Enforcement Service and the commander of the military unit where Saltan was serving to find out whether she could participate in the court hearings. From the answers received, it became clear that she could use mobile phone and the internet and move freely around Odesa.
In January 2025, Saltan was prosecuted for appearing on the territory of a military unit in a state of drunkenness: she had an unsteady gait, red eyes and face, slurred speech, and smelled of alcohol. The court fined her UAH 17,000, Butko writes.
Judge of the Brovary City District Court of Kyiv Region, Volodymyr Serdynskyi
In 2023, he was caught receiving a bribe of $4,000 for making a favourable decision. He was also suspected in another case of forgery.
The HACC suspended the criminal proceedings against him in January 2025 due to mobilisation. At the court's request, the military unit where Serdynskyi served reported that he was serving as an assistant grenade launcher of the rifle section of the rifle company, and his participation in court hearings, including via video conference, is impossible due to the location of the unit.
Judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odesa Region, Valentyn Zaveriukha
‘According to the NABU, Judge Zaveriukha, along with two other judges, Boiarskyi and Savytskyi, made illegal decisions on the place of residence of the child with the father for illegal benefit, including by illegally interfering with the court's automated case management system, thus helping the men avoid mobilisation. The case was considered following a complaint from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Judge Zaveriukha and his lawyer tried to delay the consideration of the complaint by the HCJ. They insisted that the proceedings should be suspended because Zaveriukha was serving in the Ukrainian Defence Forces. And after the motion was rejected, they began to challenge all members of the Disciplinary Chamber. Expectedly, none of them were satisfied. The defence lawyer claimed that the HCJ was allegedly ‘impeding the exercise of the rights’ of the defence. The chamber nevertheless considered the case and made a decision. Zaveriukha may appeal against it. Until the final decision is made, the judge is suspended from administering justice," the article says.
"Mobilisation should not become a tool for avoiding responsibility. When judges accused of corruption hide in the army from potential punishment, it not only distorts the very essence of military service, but also undermines trust in the judiciary. Every day that these servants of Themis ‘serve’ in the army brings them closer to the moment when the term of prosecution expires and they can return to their seats with impunity," Butko said.
According to her, it is necessary to amend the legislation and stop the statute of limitations in such cases. Then the abuse of mobilisation would lose its meaning.
