A court on Nov. 25 dropped criminal charges against a judge’s assistant, Nataliya Solovey, who was driving an expensive Mercedes jeep that struck and killed a woman pedestrian on a sidewalk in June.
The judge granted Solovey freedom from prosecution “as she has two minor children,” according to the court verdict, published in the state register of judicial decisions. Aside from amnesty, the court also allowed Solovey to reclaim her car, her driving license and her job with the state.
Solovey ran over and killed Svitlana Teterevkova, a married mother of three children, while trying to park her Mercedes on a sidewalk in Kyiv on June 24.
The case became the latest in a long line of lethal traffic accidents, often involving relatives or associates of powerful and well-connected Ukrainians, in which no one is held accountable. Critics say such cases highlight Ukraine’s two-tier society, characterized by impunity for the rich, well-connected and powerful.
“How do you think I may perceive this decision?” Artur Teterevkov, the husband of the killed woman, said angrily when contacted by telephone. He said he would consult his lawyer before deciding whether to appeal the court’s decision.
According to TVi channel, the relatives of the victim received numerous offers of money to withdraw claims against Solovey. Teterevkov refused to comment on the reports of cash offers.
Dmytro Karatumanov, son of a Kharkiv Oblast deputy, killed a 19-year-old student in a car accident in 2008. But later Karatumanov was found innocent and his criminal case was closed.
In the same year Vitaliy Faingold, son of a Simferopol city council deputy, killed a 25-year-old motorcyclist while driving a Bentley at high speed. He received a two-year suspended sentence. Segodnya daily reported on Dec. 1 that Faingold has also been granted amnesty.
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg on Nov. 26 raised concerns that only 1 percent of Ukrainians are acquitted in court and called on authorities to reduce political influence on judges.
According to the police, the accident might have been due to the driver mixing up the brake and the gas pedals. A criminal case was launched on charges of violating traffic rules for which the driver could have faced up to 10 years in prison.
However, on Nov. 25 judge Volodymyr Bugil made a decision to close the case and drop the charges against Solovey. “I made a decision on the application of amnesty. Though I am not going to comment on the grounds for the resolution,” the judge told journalists, according to a TVi channel report.
Andriy Fedur, a well-known criminal lawyer, said that tens of thousands of people “who committed insignificant criminal actions” were released by amnesty in Ukraine every year.
Those persons are considered not to have any criminal record and so they may occupy the government posts, Fedur explained.
Witnesses say that, soon after the accident took place, Solovey’s common-law husband arrived and talked to the road police.
Solovey was released on bail several days after the accident, which was witnessed by the husband and children of the victim.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached at [email protected].
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