Poroshenko’s lawyers filed complaints with the High Council of Justice, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), and the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding Mudra and the Chairman of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAS) Dashutin’s pressure on the panel of judges in the sanctions case.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers appealed to the High Council of Justice, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), and the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding pressure exerted by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra and the Chairperson of the Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court on the panel of judges hearing the lawsuit against Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking the lifting of sanctions.
They reported this during a briefing .
As it became known on September 2 during a meeting of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the investigation of possible illegal actions by officials of state authorities, other government agencies, and business entities in the public sector that could harm the economic security of Ukraine , Iryna Mudra exerted pressure on judges through the Chairman of the CAS of the Supreme Court, Igor Dasha.
As is known, three of the five judges—Olha Kashpur, Viktoria Matsedonska, and Zhanna Melnyk-Tomenko—ruled in favor of the government. However, two judges—Olesya Radishevska and Mykhailo Smokovich—dissented from this verdict and published their separate opinions, in which they substantiated the grounds for upholding Poroshenko’s claim and repealing the sanctions decree.
“It wasn’t news to us that Dashutin could influence the course of this case through his actions. The decision on this case was scheduled for April 3rd of this year, and the hearing was disrupted . By order of Dashutin, Judge Kashpur, a member of the panel of judges, was granted leave from April 2nd to 3rd, as a result of which the court hearing scheduled for April 3rd did not take place. Because the court president signed the leave order for one of the judges precisely when the decision was supposed to be announced, the proceedings in this case were delayed for three months. This gave opportunity and time to those who wanted to intervene and to those who wanted to influence the judges to change their minds,” said Ilya Novikov. 
” We’ve contacted the High Council of Justice regarding this matter . It’s the only body authorized to evaluate judges’ performance and pose specific questions to them. We’re asking them to ask Mr. Igor Dashutin whether he really made such a strange decision after speaking with a representative of the Presidential Office, as these decisions regarding judges’ vacations aren’t usually made in this manner,” Novikov noted.
“The sanctions case is currently being reviewed by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court. We hope this situation isn’t too late; it will help us protect the Grand Chamber judges from further interference. Because the conditions and circumstances that led to such interference have not disappeared. Because if we don’t protect the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court won’t protect us,” Novikov notes.
As lawyer Igor Golovan added, the circumstances of the pressure on the judges of the Supreme Court’s Code of Administrative Offenses should also be investigated in the criminal proceedings being investigated by the NABU.
“We see money laundering, posting bail for accomplices, corporate raids—all of this combined with other actions related to persecuting the opposition and influencing the judiciary to maintain these illegal sanctions. Therefore, we have petitioned the NABU to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in this criminal proceeding. Since Mudra’s actions to influence the Supreme Court are directed against Petro Poroshenko, Poroshenko, as the leader of the opposition, should be recognized as a victim in this criminal infiltration,” the lawyer believes.
“Furthermore, Article 209 of the Criminal Code, which concerns money laundering, is being investigated there. We believe additional criminal offenses should be registered. We have filed a criminal complaint with both the NABU and the Prosecutor General’s Office and are requesting that they additionally register charges under Article 364 of the Criminal Code for abuse of power or official position. We also request that Article 376, which pertains to interference in the activities of judicial bodies with the aim of obtaining an unjust decision, be registered. We believe these articles characterize the activities of the individuals currently suspected in the NABU criminal proceedings. We hope that these legal demands of ours will be met,” said Igor Golovan.
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