Another court hearing for Shabunin took place in Kyiv: a report by UA.News
On Monday, July 27, the Pechersk District Court in the capital held another hearing in the case of Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center. According to the prosecution, the civic activist fictitiously served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine at a military unit near Kyiv, received money for this, while in reality evading service the entire time. This time, the court was deciding whether to transfer Shabunin’s case from the Pechersk Court to a higher court.
Reporters from UA.News attended the hearing. Read more in our article.
The next court hearing in Shabunin’s case was scheduled for 10 a.m. In the end, the start of the proceedings was delayed by 36 minutes. The hearing took place in a small, intimate setting: there were a total of 14 people in the courtroom, including a handful of media representatives.
Vitaliy Shabunin
himself, who is accused of fictitious military service (for which he received substantial funds and additional payments), appeared at the hearing in good spirits and wearing a patriotic T-shirt with the slogan “Make Russia Small Again.” It was a somewhat inappropriate choice of attire, given that the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center is accused precisely of evading military service. When asked how his case was progressing, Shabunin replied succinctly.
“So far, the case hasn’t moved forward at all. There was one preliminary hearing, then another one after that, and now this. All in all, nothing interesting so far,” the activist noted.
There were almost no journalists in the courtroom. It seems that the public isn’t particularly interested in Shabunin’s case.
After the hearing began, the floor was given to the attorneys for Viktor Yushko—the former commander of military unit A7376, where the anti-corruption activist allegedly served. Like Shabunin, he is a suspect in the case. Incidentally, Shabunin’s defense team did not bother to appear in person in court, instead joining the proceedings via video link (one of the lawyers for the head of the Anti-Corruption Center had difficulty connecting for quite some time, which caused a partial delay in the hearing).
Overall, the entire defense strategy presented today by Yushko and Shabunin was based on a request to transfer the case to other courts—the Kyiv Court of Appeals and the Ivankiv District Court of Kyiv Oblast. The defense attorneys consider the charges unlawful: they argue that military unit A7376 regularly changed its deployment locations, being stationed in various settlements in the Kyiv region. Because of this, they claim, it is allegedly impossible to establish that Shabunin was not actually on the territory of the military unit.
Former battalion commander Yushko himself confirmed everything his lawyers had said. Shabunin’s own defense attorneys also confirmed these statements via video link.
After that, the prosecution took the floor. It immediately spoke out strongly against transferring the case to other courts. The prosecution believes that the defense is “engaging in sophistry.”
According to the investigation, both Shabunin and Yushko committed a crime. The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) lawfully requested that Shabunin be seconded to them. However, first, the activist did not show up there, instead simply going about his own business in Kyiv. Second, the NACP is not the type of institution to which a military servicemember can legally be seconded.
Prosecutors argue that if Shabunin had actually reported for duty at the NACP, it would not have been considered illegal, since he would simply have been carrying out a direct order from his commander, just like any ordinary soldier. But the problem is that Yushko’s orders regarding the secondment were themselves illegal. That is precisely why both defendants ended up in the dock.
“The defense is just dragging out the case!” remarked one of the prosecutors.
The prosecution believes that Yushko abused his authority and official position. According to the investigation, he issued orders for fictitious business trips for Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, who was serving in the battalion in 2022. The prosecutor is convinced that Yushko received “an unlawful benefit of an intangible nature” through his acquaintance with Shabunin.
After that, the parties again argued for some time over where exactly the crime was committed and in which court the case should be heard.
After
hearing the arguments of the defense and the prosecution, Judge Oleg Solovyov announced a 10-minute recess, during which he retired to the deliberation room. He then returned and announced his decision.
Thus, the court, presided over by Judge Solovyov, ruled to grant the defense attorneys’ request and refer this criminal proceeding to the Kyiv Court of Appeals and the Ivankiv District Court of Kyiv Oblast. The decision is not subject to appeal.
The next hearing in the Shabunin case is scheduled for August 1.
As a reminder, in May, Vitaliy Shabunin officially completed his service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
We have also reported on the conflict surrounding the TCC and Shabunin’s military service.
UA.News reported on the previous hearing in Shabunin’s case, when authorities attempted to place him under house arrest.
