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Judge refused to consider V. Boyko’s claim against the tax administration and the prosecutor’s office of the Donetsk oblast

08.04.2004   

Last year the Donetsk tax militia detained journalist Vladimit Boyko and took him into custody. The only guilt of the journalist was that he had written the article about the corruption in Donetsk tax militia. The journalist illustrated this corruption with the example of Vadim Papaika, the head of the tax militia of the Kyivskiy district of Donetsk. After this Boyko was arrested by tax officers in the editorial office of the newspaper “Salon”.

After 10 months the criminal case against V. Boyko was closed because of the absence of corpus delicti, and the court acknowledged that the detention and incarceration of the journalist were illegal.

Nobody knows how much time will pass until the organizers and executors of this dirty affair will be punished. Until now V. Boyko has not get the compensation of the damage inflicted by the illegal detention; moreover, he even has not obtain the documents and other property seized from him during two searches. The prosecutor’s office ignores journalist’s appeals; his claims and complaints to court are not considered.

On 26 June Ya. Rassuzhday, a judge of the Kyivskiy district court of Donetsk, refused to consider the claim handed by V. Boyko against the tax officers and the oblast prosecutor’s office about the compensation of the damage inflicted by the illegal bringing to criminal responsibility. The arguments adduced by the judge were rather surprising. It appeared that Vladimir Boyko had to pay 5 thousand UAH of litigation fee.

According to Article 4 item 6 of the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers “On litigation fee”, litigation fee is not imposed on the claims on recompensing the damage inflicted by the illegal bringing to criminal responsibility. Moreover, the claimant must not turn to court and prove something at all, if the illegal actions were committed against him by law-enforcing officers. According to the Law of Ukraine “On the order of recompensing the damage inflicted to a citizens by the illegal actions of the organs of inquiry, preliminary investigation, prosecutor’s office and court”, after closing a case because of the rehabilitating circumstances, the investigating officer must calculate the damage inflicted by the illegal bringing to criminal responsibility and to issue the resolution about the compensation. The size of the compensation may not be less than the size of minimal wages for every month of incarceration. If the citizen does not agree with the size of the compensation, he may appeal to court against this resolution without paying the litigation fee.

The tax militia returned only Boyko’s computer confiscated from his flat. The investigation officer explained the reason of this confiscation without any embarrassment: the officers liked the plain monitor and decided to take it to their office, so they seized the equipment without court permission. Yet, the law-enforcers refuse to return the journalist’s correspondence, workbook and other documents.

 («Vechernie vesti», No. 98, 4-10 July 2003)

03 July 2003. Donetsk journalist Vladimir Boyko turned to the Appeal court of the Donetsk oblast with the claim about starting the disciplinary proceedings against Ya. Rassuzhday, a judge of the Kyivskiy district court of Donetsk.

On 21 April 2003 V. Boyko handed the claim on recompensing the moral damage inflicted by the illegal bringing to criminal responsibility. He demanded 100 thousand hryvnas of compensation. Yet, on 28 May the judge rejected his claim, since the plaintiff allegedly had to pay 5 thousand UAH of litigation fee. The judge based his decision on the Law of Ukraine “On the introduction of changes to some legal acts of Ukraine concerning the unhampered realization of the right for the freedom of speech”. V. Boyko also turned to the General Prosecutor of Ukraine with the claim about the institution of criminal case against judge Rassuzhday after part 1 Article 375 (issuing a deliberately unjust decision).

Institute of mass information, «Barometr svobody slova», July 2003

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