Mindich’s defense sees signs of "information manipulation and pressure" in tapes released by media
The lawyer of Timur Mindich, a figure in the Midas case and Zelenskyy’s oligarch, has commented on new data about his alleged phone conversations that have appeared in the public domain in recent days. The defense says it was not given access to the "tapes."
Lawyer Andrii Kostenko said this in a comment to Radio Liberty, Censor.NET reports.
What does Mindich’s defense say?
According to Andrii Kostenko, Mindich’s defense did not receive access to these materials.
"The defense cannot confirm the authenticity of the conversations published in materials by journalists and MPs, as these audio recordings and their transcripts were not provided to the defense either officially or unofficially as part of the criminal proceedings," the lawyer claims.
Kostenko added that the defense of the person involved in the case had no opportunity to examine or verify these recordings. In addition, the case materials disclosed to the defense contain no such recordings or transcripts. The lawyer believes this casts doubt on "their origin, the legality of how they were obtained, and the circumstances under which they reached third parties."
Mindich’s defense lawyer claims that there is currently no procedurally confirmed information that would make it possible to establish the context, participants or legal nature of these recordings, and calls "public conclusions" on the matter premature and unfounded.
"Mr. Mindich’s position is that the dissemination of unverified materials outside procedural examination shows signs of information manipulation and may be regarded as a form of pressure. That is why the defense insists on a full investigation into the source of the leak and verification of the authenticity of the published materials in accordance with the procedure established by law," Kostenko said.
In addition, the lawyer also rejected MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s suggestion that Mindich’s defense was involved in the leak as baseless and an attempt to discredit the lawyers and divert attention from the real sources of the leak.
Background
- On April 29, media outlets published new "Mindich tapes" recording conversations between Timur Mindich, former presidential adviser Serhii Shefir and former defense minister and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, including about the financing of Fire Point.
- On May 1, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak published new recordings.
