A court found the director of Diesel Studio guilty of wearing a police uniform
A Kyiv court found the director of Diesel Studio LLC guilty of illegally wearing a National Police uniform during the filming of a comedy show. However, the court did not impose a fine because, by the time the case was heard, the statutory limitation period for imposing administrative liability had expired.
The court received an administrative report from the Pechersk Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv regarding the imposition of a fine on the director of Diesel Studio LLC. According to the case file, the head of the community police officers’ sector, the department head, and the investigator (all three from the Pechersk Police Department) filed reports after viewing YouTube videos titled: “Cowardly Cops: A Disgrace to Ukraine” and “New Videos from Mindich: F*** the Corrupt.”
While monitoring episodes of the “Diesel Show,” it was established that the actors had illegally used items of the uniform and insignia of the National Police of Ukraine, namely: uniform headgear, uniform clothing, uniforms, sleeve chevrons, chest badges (patches), and other elements. According to the administrative report, this “creates the impression that the individuals in question are members of the National Police.”
The attorney for the director of “Diesel Studio” LLC categorically disagreed with this assessment. According to the defense attorney, the actors of the “Diesel Show” used elements resembling police uniforms on stage for the purpose of creating artistic characters and parodies. In particular, she cited Articles 15 (“Public life in Ukraine is based on the principles of political, economic, and ideological diversity”) and 54 (“Citizens are guaranteed freedom of literary, artistic, scientific, and technical creativity…”) of the Constitution, as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
“The aforementioned stage characters do not imitate actual law enforcement activities, do not mislead viewers into believing that Diesel Studio LLC or its actors hold any official authority, and do not cause any harmful consequences for the administration of public order; furthermore, the company director’s actions completely lack the subjective element of an offense in the form of direct intent,” the attorney’s brief states.
However, the court rejected the arguments of the defense attorney for the director of Diesel Studio LLC. The court held that the freedom of artistic and literary creativity guaranteed by the state is not absolute and cannot serve as a basis for nullifying mandatory legislative prohibitions established to protect the administrative order and the authority of state institutions.
“To hold a legal entity (or its director) liable, it is sufficient to establish the mere fact of unauthorized, illegal use of symbols indicating affiliation with the National Police of Ukraine, regardless of the motives for such use (including commercial, entertainment, or artistic ones). The actors’ use during the filming of the “Diesel Show” project was not merely of similar elements, but authentic uniform headgear, uniforms, chevrons, and badges approved by Resolution No. 823 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which was broadcast to a multi-million audience on the Internet under the titles ‘Cops-Cowards...,” goes beyond purely artistic expression and directly violates the requirements of Article 5-1 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Police,” the court emphasized.
Furthermore, in June of this year, “Diesel Studio” LLC received a letter from the National Police demanding that it cease committing the offense (wearing a police uniform). However, the production company’s director failed to respond appropriately to the law enforcement agency’s demand.
As a reminder, Lesya Nikityuk shared details about her son’s first birthday.
Earlier, well-known Ukrainian TV host and blogger Lesya Nikityuk shared new family photos with her fans and showed how she spends time with her little son, Oscar.
