Again about advocate Salov’s case
13.12.2002
The Supreme Court of Ukraine satisfied the claim of Sergey Salov about illegal actions of the Donetsk prosecutor’s office. Advocate Salov was accused of preventing the election right.
The bulletin „Prava ludyny“ more than once wrote about the case of advocate Sergey Salov. In our opinion, it was the only case in the independent Ukraine, which may be classified as persecutions for one’s opinions.
The accusations against Salov were not canceled.
We want to remind our readers the situation. On the eve of the presidential election of 31 October 1999 Salov found an issue of the newspaper „Golos Ukrainy“ in his mailbox. The newspaper informed that President Leonid Kuchma had died. The newspaper was faked, and Salov was not related to its fabrication. Salov showed the newspaper to several his acquaintances and was arrested. Advocate Salov was accused of violating Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine „Preventing the election right“. In July 2000 Salov was condemned for this „crime“ to five years of incarceration with the postponement of the verdict for two years; before this he stayed in the preliminary prison.
On 15 June 2001 the Voroshilovski district court of Donetsk satisfied the claim of advocate Salov against the city prosecutor’s office and city militia „for humiliation and torture during the investigation“. The plaintiff asserts that he was kept in the Donetsk preliminary prison in the only cell without bunches, and he had to sleep on the bare floor. After Salov spent several months in the preliminary prison, his health deteriorated. The demanded compensation sum equaled 500 thousand UAH. The court ruled to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands partly and to extract from the city prosecutor’s office and the city militia directorate 1.5 thousand UAH as the compensation for the moral damage inflicted to Sergey Salov.
The Donetsk prosecutor’s office protested against the decision of the Voroshilovski court to the appeal court. The latter confirmed the decision in favor of Salov, but the prosecutor’s office handed the cassation against this decision too. Now, at last, the Supreme Court put an end to this long-drawn case.
On 23 May the Court Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in charge of civil cases considered the cassation of the Donetsk oblast prosecutor’s office against the decision of the Voroshilovski district court of Donetsk and the ruling of the judicial chamber of the appeal court of the Donetsk oblast, which regarded the actions of the city prosecutor’s office connected with the detainment, arrest and holding in custody of advocate Sergey Salov as illegal.
The Court Chamber of the Supreme Court acknowledged the fact of violating Salov’s constitutional rights and inflicting him the moral damage equal to 3000 UAH, which must be recompensed by the state. The decision is final and may not be appealed.
Our informant
The accusations against Salov were not canceled.
We want to remind our readers the situation. On the eve of the presidential election of 31 October 1999 Salov found an issue of the newspaper „Golos Ukrainy“ in his mailbox. The newspaper informed that President Leonid Kuchma had died. The newspaper was faked, and Salov was not related to its fabrication. Salov showed the newspaper to several his acquaintances and was arrested. Advocate Salov was accused of violating Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine „Preventing the election right“. In July 2000 Salov was condemned for this „crime“ to five years of incarceration with the postponement of the verdict for two years; before this he stayed in the preliminary prison.
On 15 June 2001 the Voroshilovski district court of Donetsk satisfied the claim of advocate Salov against the city prosecutor’s office and city militia „for humiliation and torture during the investigation“. The plaintiff asserts that he was kept in the Donetsk preliminary prison in the only cell without bunches, and he had to sleep on the bare floor. After Salov spent several months in the preliminary prison, his health deteriorated. The demanded compensation sum equaled 500 thousand UAH. The court ruled to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands partly and to extract from the city prosecutor’s office and the city militia directorate 1.5 thousand UAH as the compensation for the moral damage inflicted to Sergey Salov.
The Donetsk prosecutor’s office protested against the decision of the Voroshilovski court to the appeal court. The latter confirmed the decision in favor of Salov, but the prosecutor’s office handed the cassation against this decision too. Now, at last, the Supreme Court put an end to this long-drawn case.
On 23 May the Court Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in charge of civil cases considered the cassation of the Donetsk oblast prosecutor’s office against the decision of the Voroshilovski district court of Donetsk and the ruling of the judicial chamber of the appeal court of the Donetsk oblast, which regarded the actions of the city prosecutor’s office connected with the detainment, arrest and holding in custody of advocate Sergey Salov as illegal.
The Court Chamber of the Supreme Court acknowledged the fact of violating Salov’s constitutional rights and inflicting him the moral damage equal to 3000 UAH, which must be recompensed by the state. The decision is final and may not be appealed.
Our informant