The family of a student who died in a car accident is appealing the dismissal of the case against a NABU detective
The family of Marina Arustamova, a student who died in a traffic accident in Kyiv, is officially appealing the law enforcement authorities’ decision to close the criminal case.
This concerns the high-profile accident involving NABU detective Andriy Rusayev, which occurred back in April 2018.
The victim’s attorney openly alleges possible gross violations during the investigation and a complete lack of response from the court to the filed complaint.
Oleksandr Shcherbina, managing partner of the Legal Guarantees law firm, who represents the interests of the deceased’s family, reported ongoing manipulation surrounding the case.
After the proceedings were opened, the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office in July 2019 deemed the National Police’s investigation ineffective, prompting the case materials to be transferred to the Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigation in Kyiv.
Recently, the defense learned of the SBI’s decision, made back in 2025, to close the criminal case due to the absence of criminal intent in the driver’s actions.
“Simply put—the driver is not guilty because he physically could not have avoided the collision. How a physically healthy man, driving a roadworthy car on a road with three lanes in each direction, failed to see a person at a crosswalk—that question remains open,” the lawyer said indignantly.
After receiving information about the case’s dismissal, the victims’ side appealed to the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv demanding that the relevant ruling be overturned; however, the appeal has been pending in court for over two weeks without a hearing date being set.
According to Shcherbina, from the very beginning of the investigation, the victim’s side has faced serious difficulties in publicizing this case.
In addition, the defense attorney drew attention to strange surrounding circumstances: immediately after the accident, NABU’s internal security arrived at the scene, and the surveillance camera at the crosswalk suddenly stopped working.
Only a year later, after numerous requests and complaints, did the investigator request footage from other nearby surveillance cameras, but by that time, the necessary video materials had already been lost.
The lawyer emphasized that he does not question the activities of NABU as an institution, but believes that any person, regardless of position, must be held accountable under the law.
“I am in no way discrediting NABU. There is a driver of the vehicle, and whatever position he holds, he must be held accountable under the law. And when they use their official position to avoid responsibility—it looks strange, to say the least,” emphasized Oleksandr Shcherbyna.
This was reported by the publication Ukrainian News.
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