The bribery and corruption trial of ex-Lviv Appeals Court Judge Ihor Zvarych is slated to begin 11:30 a.m. in Kyiv Obolon District Court.
The bribery and corruption trial of ex-Lviv Appeals Court Judge Ihor Zvarych is slated to begin 11:30 a.m. in Kyiv Obolon District Court, according to media reports that cite anonymous sources.
Judge Vladyslav Devyatko will preside over the preliminary hearing, according to Ukrainian media.
The trial location, taking place outside of Kyiv’s central judicial districts, was chosen by the head of the Supreme Court, Vasyl Oponenko earlier this year.
The Ministry of Justice would not say whether the trial will be open to the public.
Meanwhile, Korrespondent magazine reported that Zvarych’s legal representative wouldn’t confirm or deny the information but said that the imprisoned judge’s relatives haven’t been able to see him for more than three months already.
Prosecutors in December 2008 opened a criminal case on suspicion that Zvarych had taken a $100,000 bribe.
The next day, the offices and apartments of Zvarych and another seven court judges were searched.
Some $1 million and Hr 300,000 were discovered at Zvarych’s home. He was arrested in Lviv on March 9, 2009. More than a year later, the case has still not gone to trial. Zvarych has denied wrongdoing and claimed he was framed.
In June, when given the 70-volume, 600 page case against him, Zvarych allegedly gnawed and devoured the papers. He subsequently refused legal services from all of his lawyers.
Should Zvarych be found guilty and sentenced to jail, it would be one of the few times that a corrupt judge has faced justice in Ukraine. More broadly, few if any of the nation’s most serious crimes have been solved or injustices rectified in its independent history.
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
