A new panel of judges of the Leninsky District Court composed of Yevhen Olkhovsky, Viacheslav Yevtifyev and Anzhelika Hrymailo, which was chosen on Jan. 11 to consider the case against former Sloviansk Mayor Neli Shtepa, has announced recusal.
“The panel of judges announces its recusal from the consideration of the said proceeding,” reads a statement by the panel, which was read out by the presiding judge on Jan. 11.
The document states that the reason for recusal was the pre-trial investigation conducted by the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office in the criminal proceeding under Part 3, Article 368, Part 2, Article 375 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the judges of the Leninsky District Court of Kharkiv receiving an undue benefit for making a knowingly unjust court judgment during the consideration of the judicial proceeding in the case against Shtepa.
“These circumstances raise doubts about the possibility of considering the unbiassed consideration by all judges of the Leninsky District Court of criminal proceedings against the accused Shtepa … that, according to Article 77 of the Criminal Procedure Code, is the basis for rejection,” the statement said.
The document also says that Judge Yevtifyev, who is a displaced person from the Donbas conflict zone, where his mother and close relatives now live, declares that it is impossible to take part in this criminal proceeding for fear of their life and health.
The state prosecutor opposed the approval of recusal, since the newly appointed members of the panel had not previously participated in the consideration of cases against Shtepa.
The defense team and the accused supported the recusal of the panel of judges.
Earlier on Jan. 11, a panel of judges of the Leninsky District Court of Kharkiv, composed of Liudmyla Shramko, Vitaliy Bondarenko and Oleksandra Hrinchuk, who heard the case against Shtepa, also recused, referring to the criminal proceeding investigated by the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office.
Shtepa was arrested on July 13, 2014. She is charged with committing criminal offenses envisaged by Part 3, Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, which resulted in the death of people) and Part 1, Article 258-3 (the creation of a terrorist group or organization) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
