Supreme court head Vasyl Onopenko expects a local court's ruling cancelling the results of the competition for broadcasting licenses that the national Television and Radio Broadcasting council held on January 27 to be challenged.
He said this in an interview with the Fifth TV Channel released on June 12.
"I think they should struggle for a final decision against the ruling of the local court. This is the first ruling, the appeal will come later. I am sure there are judges who can make a lawful decision even under pressure and any sort of influence," he said.
Onopenko does not exclude pressure from the side of some members of the High Council of Justice on judges to pursue a beneficial ruling on the matter.
"I want give names, but they exert pressure and they can exert pressure," he said.
Vasyl Onopenko urged all true judges not to yield to pressure and pass true verdicts regardless of possible threats.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the District Administrative Court of Kyiv on June 8 cancelled the results of the competition for broadcasting licenses that the national Television and Radio Broadcasting council held on January 27.
The editorial board of TV Channel 5 on June 7 made public an open letter to President Viktor Yanukovych where it accused Security Service Head Valerii Khoroshkovskyi, owner of the U.A. Inter Media Group media holding, of attempts to annihilate TV Channel 5 by overturning the results of the January 27, 2010 tender the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council had held to allocate frequencies.
Khoroshkovskyi denied the allegations.
U.A. Inter Media Group, Kyiv-based media holding company, in April decided to relinquish the broadcast license it had acquired on January 27 via a competition organized by the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, claiming it had been held in contravention of the law.
NTN, Enter Film and Enter Music TV channels, parts of the holding, challenged the tender results in courts.
On June 8, Kyiv District Administrative Court overturned the results of the tender.
TVI won 33 frequencies and TV Channel 5 – 26 frequencies at the January 27 tender.
U.A. Inter Media Group won 20 frequencies then.
U.A. Inter Media Group indirectly owns 61% of the shares of the Ukrainian Independent TV Corporation (Inter TV channel), 100% of the TV Studio Information Service (NTN TV channel), 90% in Music-TV (Enter Music TV Channel), television channels K1, K2, Megasport, and other media assets.
