MENU
Documenting
war crimes in Ukraine

The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Boris Feldman vs. Nikolay Azarov and the State Tax Administration of Ukraine (the case on the authenticity of major Mernichenko’s records)

15.12.2003   
Advocates of Boris Feldman got the complete text of the decision on the suit of B. Feldman vs. N. Azarov and the State Tax

Advocates of Boris Feldman got the complete text of the decision of judge Zhanna Bernatskaya on the suit of B. Feldman vs. N. Azarov and the State Tax Administration of Ukraine (STAU).

We want to remind that B. Feldman demands from the STAU and N. Azarov to refute the information spread by the defendants that the audio records made public by major Nikolay Melnichenko were faked, and the falsification was made by the order of B. Feldman. The interests of Boris Feldman in this case are represented by advocates Viktor Ageev and Andrey Fedur. The text of the writ can be found on our site:

http://ageyev.org/cases/feldman/azarov/pozov27.05.02.htm

The agency UNIAN and the TV channel «Inter», who spread this information, were also brought to trial as co-defendants. Representatives of the UNIAN and «Inter» insist that they spread only the information passed to them by Azarov, and with reference to Azarov. However, Feldman had no complaints against the UNIAN and «Inter», although the claim was based on the information published by the UNIAN and by the TV channel «Inter» in the news feature «Podrobnosti».

In the decision judge Bernatskaya pointed out that «the plaintiff did not prove the fact of distribution by the defendants of the information detractive for him».

Yet, the decision reads that the court established the fact of the corresponding statements by Azarov at the press conference that had been conducted on 16 May 2002 in the STAU. This fact was confirmed by Azarov’s representatives. Besides, the judge wrote in the decision that these statements were based on the information passed to Azarov by the Main directorate of tax militia, and this information was allegedly obtained during the ODA. The court also interrogated witness V. Grishchenko, an officer of the tax militia, who worked in the group, which investigated the case of the bank «Slavianskiy». Grishchenko declared at the trial that Azarov allegedly got the information about Feldman’s statements (when the latter already stayed in the preliminary prison) from their investigating group. Representatives of the UNIAN and «Inter» confirmed in court that they had distributed the information that was made public by Nikolay Azarov at the press conference.

Yet, all this evidence did not persuade judge Bernatskaya that the above-mentioned information really had been communicated by Azarov at the press conference on 16 May 2002.

The photocopy of the decision of judge Zh. Bernatskaya is published on our site – http://ageyev.­org/cases/feldman/azarov/bernatska2003-07-23.htm

The fact is noteworthy that the representatives of the STAU and Azarov even did not try to prove in court that Melnichenko’s records were «faked» or that these records were made by Feldman’s order.

 Share this