ECHR Rules Violations in NABU Ex-Director Sytnyk’s Case

The European Court of Human Rights has concluded that Ukrainian courts violated the right to a fair trial of former head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Artem Sytnyk when considering a corruption case against him.

This is reported by "European Truth" with reference to the press service of the Court.

The case concerned proceedings initiated against Sytnyk for receiving unlawful benefits, namely undeclared payment for his vacation in the Rivne region.

In December 2019, the then director of NABU was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine, and his name was added to the public register of corrupt officials for an indefinite period.

The judges of the ECHR unanimously found a violation of Article 6(1) (right to a fair trial), Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and Article 18 (restrictions on the exercise of rights) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Court's decision pointed out that the Ukrainian courts relied "on the contradictory testimony of one person about the vacation and the expenses associated with it," without taking into account the defense's arguments and the testimony of his witnesses.

His concerns about the impartiality of the trial judge who decided the case were also not addressed.

The judges in the case also decided that the proceedings against Sytnyk were personal in nature, and his inclusion in the register of corrupt officials "continues to cast a shadow on his reputation and undermine his professional authority."

Let us remind you that Artem Sytnyk is a person involved in the EBK base.

We also previously reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court took Roman Nasirov, the former head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, into custody and increased his bail from UAH 27 to 40 million, the Anti-Corruption Action Center reports.