Claims of Viktor Medvedchuk against Sergiy Ratushniak and the newspaper “Silski visti”
Recently Viktor Medvedchuk brought a suit against MP Sergiy Ratushniak, a former Uzhgorod mayor. S. Ratushniak gave an interview to the Uzhgorod newspaper “RIO”, in which he called the sitting of the pro-presidential deputies majority on 21 January 2000 “a velvety-criminal anti-state plot headed by Medvedchuk” and expressed the opinion that “Medvedchuk was guilty of the death of Ukrainian genius Stus, and Medvedchuks father – of sending more than 1600 Ukrainians for servitude to Germany”. For these words Medvedchuk handed a claim against Ratushniak. The defendant knew nothing about the claim and the planned consideration of it by court. The process was held in the favorite Medvedchuks court – the Pecherskiy district court of Kyiv, although the ex-mayor of Uzhgorod is not a Kyiv dweller, and the editorial board of the newspaper “RIO” is situated in the Zakarpatska oblast. In the absence of Sergiy Ratushniak judge Stryzhevska satisfied the demands of the head of Presidents administration. So, now Ratushniak can only appeal against the actions of the court…
Medvedchuk handed a claim against out newspaper too. The leader of the SDPU (u) disliked his characterization given by Yulia Timoshenko in one of interviews. V. Medvedchuk decided to have legal proceedings not only with Ms. Timoshenko, but also with “Silski visti” and Vasyl Gruzny, the author of the material.
(«Silski visti», No. 58, 22 May 2003)