High Administrative Court dismisses appeals against illegal award of Hero of Ukraine title to Soviet soldiers

The High Administrative Court of Ukraine has dismissed suits lodged by coordinator of the Harmony and Order NGO Dmytro Hudyma to declare four decrees by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on awarding the Hero of Ukraine title to Soviet soldiers illegal and cancel them. "The suits were dismissed," the High Administrative Court of Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

A range of requirements by Hudyma was posted on the official Web site of the court, under a list of cases scheduled for August 12.

According to Hudyma, the reason for suits was the fact that the Hero of Ukraine title was conferred to the persons who were not citizens of Ukraine, and thus the decrees should be canceled.

Hudyma based his suit on the same arguments used by Donetsk Administrative Court of Appeals that on April 21 satisfied an appeal by Professor of Donetsk Medical University Anatoliy Soloviev and deprived Roman Shukhevych the Hero of Ukraine title, as Shukhevych was not a citizen of Ukraine. On April 2, Donetsk Circuit Administrative Court used the same arguments and cancelled the president’s decree on awarding the Hero of Ukraine title to Stepan Bandera.