A good lawyer can easily make $2,000 a month in Ukraine, yet many of them sacrificed their billable hours to represent EuroMaidan activists since Nov. 21 when the first anti-government rally started in central Kyiv. Members of the non-governmental Ukrainian Bar Association, Ukrainian Attorney Association, as well as employees of private law firms provided free legal counseling in December-February. Many still provide legal assistance today to make sure the rule of law is observed.
Serhiy Hrebeniuk, a counselor of Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners law firm and head of Kyiv department of the Ukrainian Bar Association that unites more than 4,000 leading Ukrainian lawyers says the group has been involved since Nov. 30 when police used brutal force to disperse protesters on Independence Square.
They have been involved in more than 40 criminal and civil cases. All of them “were very similar,” Hrebeniuk recalls, adding that the police reports were the same while the majority of were “accidentally” detained “and there were a lot of such stories, unfortunately.”
Hrebeniuk himself was involved in defending Anton Kudinov, a journalist from Odesa who works for the “Hidden Truth” TV channel. He was beaten and detained on Hrushevskoho Street on Jan.23. He was accused of organizing mass riots and faced up to 15 years in jail. Together with colleagues, Hrebeniuk succeeded in changing the measure of restraint — from two-months in jail to house arrest and then found a video that proved Kudinov’s innocence.
“Now we’re striving to close the case,” Hrebeniuk says. “We were offered amnesty but we refused as he’s not guilty and we insist on full termination of the criminal case, we’re fighting for every millimeter.”
Another defendant facing a 15-year prison sentence is 17-year old activist Mykhailo Nyskohuz from Lviv Oblast who was detained on Hrushevskoho Street on Jan.20. Berkut riot police allegedly beat him brutally and knifed him, according to Borys Danevych, managing partner of Marchenko Danevych law firm who represented Nyskohuz in court.
The 2014 Ukrainian revolution began with civil unrest in Kyiv as part of Ukraine’s ongoing Euromaidan protest movement against the government that started on Nov. 21.
The conflict escalated rapidly, leading to the downfall of the govearnment of President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 22 and the setting up of a new government to replace it within a few days.
Yanukovych fled to Russia and is wanted in Ukraine for the killing of protesters. The conflict continued with the 2014 Crimean crisis when Russian forces seized control of the Crimea region.
Number of deaths of the revolution reached 102, while more than 1200 people were injured, according to Ministry of Health figures.
“Taking into account the fact that he was underage and that it was the first case of bringing him to justice (a 15 year jail sentence) would be outrageous,” Danevych says. “However, under the judicial system of that time everything could happen. That system was executing well-defined instructions and we all as lawyers saw that.”
As in Kudinov’s case, Danevych says he managed to change the measure of restraint to house arrest as his defendant needed urgent medical treatment. Even though Nyskohuze’s case later became a subject to the amnesty law that came into force on Feb.17, Danevych says now he’s striving to have the General Prosecutor’s Office investigate the beating of his defendant.
AutoMaidan activist from Lviv Oblast Viktor Davydiak who was brutally beaten and detained on Jan. 23 is still recovering from injuries, says Sergiy Shapov, head of criminal practice at Alekseev, Boyarchukov and Partners law firm who represented him in court.
“When we came to the Obolon police department on Jan. 23, we saw horrifying things — severely beaten young men were detained, so we called an ambulance at once,” Shapov recalls. His defendant Davydiak was diagnosed with a brain concussion and closed head injury.
Shapov managed to change the restraint measure to house arrest so Davydiak could go back home and get medical treatment. But serious injuries were not the only thing that shocked Shapov.
During the pretrial investigation the accusations his defendant was facing were upgraded from hooliganism, implying three to five years in jail, to taking part in mass riots implying up to 15 years without any explanation, he recalls. The case was closed, however, on Feb. 26 due to the absence of the event of a crime.
Lawyers from the Ukrainian Bar Association also helped victims who suffered in clashes with police. According to the Health Ministry’s latest data, more than 1,200 people have sought medical treatment since Feb. 18 while 795 of those were hospitalized.
“We prepared instructions for people who suffered during the clashes so that they can understand what to do, what expertise to undergo, how to document injuries and so on,” Hrebeniuk explains.
Moreover, the group of lawyers designed and offered the Interior Ministry a legal formula to register public organizations that were trying to maintain public order based on Ukrainian law. This was done after there were cases reported of men dressed as self-defense units damaging property and cars, said Hrebeniuk.
“Even after the situation has changed in the country we keep our heads on a swivel as there shouldn’t be violations on behalf of any side. We as lawyers remain outside of politics but are for justice and fairness,” Hrebeniuk expains.
Currently the association is discussing possible ways to reform the judicial system, which is also being discussed by the British government, according to Andy Hunder, head of government relations in the Lodon office of Sayenko Kharenko law firm and head of the Ukrainian Institute in London who is working closely with British authorities and Justice Minister Symon Hughes, in particular.
“Now they’re looking for…what can be done (on behalf of the British Justice Ministry) to reform the legal system in Ukraine as they have similar programs of assistance for other countries,” Hunder says. “Hughes has been a great supporter of Ukraine for many years.”
Hunder, who has been an organizer of numerous rallies in London, including those outside the London residence of Ukraine’s richest businessman, Rinat Akhmetov, urging him to step up and stop the bloodshed in Ukraine since he was a close associate of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych.
Another rally was held next to British Prime Minister’s David Cameron’s home calling for sanctions on Ukrainian oligarchs and protection of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Hunder says he highly appreciates the work that Ukrainian lawyers have been doing over the last three months.
“I think it’s good that lawyers speak out and that they speak for the truth. It was very difficult and respect should be given to those lawyers who spoke for the truth and supported freedom and democracy,” Hunder says.
