“The police did not interfere.” For which the authorities set the ultra-right from the C-14 to lawyers

In the legal community of Kiev, a scandal with a radically right-wing tinge and the likely participation of the authorities flare up.

Passions raged after the last day of July, representatives of the ultra-right organization S-14 broke into the premises of the National Academy of Advocates of Ukraine (NAAU) in Kiev. Three dozen young people tried to disrupt the meeting of the defense lawyers’ committee.

The lawyers called in the Podolsky district police department and replaced them with a request to send uninvited guests. Cops in response technically “washed their hands,” stating the absence of any violations in the ongoing invasion and just contemplating the continuation of the conflict between lawyers and nationalists.

As a result, the last half an hour occupied the NAAU meeting room, where they held their own event. Lawyers also gathered in another room, having considered the only issue on the agenda of the advocacy committee of lawyers.

As far as he is concerned with the activities of the C-14, why did the radicals take up arms against certain representatives of the lawyers’ community, and how the involvement of the authorities is seen in attacks on lawyers, “Country” was exploring.

Stitching in Solomenskaya Square

Scandalous meeting, which came to disrupt the capital’s nationalists on Tuesday – a consequence of the events that took place on July 27 in the premises of the Court of Appeal of Kiev.

Then the C-14 came to support his colleague Sergei Mazur (who is suspected of organizing a pogrom on the settlement of the Roma on Bald Mountain in Kiev), and in the foyer of the palace of justice they faced lawyer Valentin Rybin. The latter is greatly disliked by the fact that he represents the interests of a number of citizens who are accused of particularly grave “near-political articles” – suspected of separatism, “Berkut people”, aiding “DNP / LNR” and the like.

Between the opponents a verbal conflict arose, during which one of the right-wing radicals tried to strike the lawyer’s head. Also, representatives of the S-14 shouted to “Rybin” the “Suitcase, Railway Station, Russia”, called “the occupier” and threw a trifle.

Rybin did not stay in the loser, but he did not dismiss his hands. He promised the leader of the C-14 Eugene Karasyu that he will soon be in prison, as now the citizen of Brazil Rafael Lusvargi, who in Ukraine is accused of participating in the war in the Donbass on the side of the separatists, is sitting. The reference to Lusvarga is not accidental – it is Rybin who is his lawyer. And the conflict between the defender and the nationalists is coming to this matter.

How the Brazilian caused the conflict between Rybin and Karasem

On its pages, “Country” already touched on the epic of a Brazilian who took part in the fighting in the Donbass as part of the forces of the “DNR”. In autumn of 2016 a man was detained at the airport “Borispol”, and convicted by the Pechersk court for 13 years in prison. In the appeal, this verdict could not stand, and the trial of his case was launched on a new round.

Then, to represent the interests of South American lawyer Rybin joined, who led the line of defense for the exchange of Lusvarga to Ukrainian soldiers who are in captivity with the separatists. At the end of last year, the Brazilian was added to the relevant lists, and released from custody. The exchange eventually broke, as a result of which the combatant turned out to be free, but without documents on his hands, which did not give him a chance to try to return to his homeland.

This went on for almost four months, after which the journalists found the Lusvargi. The broadcasted plot “pushed” the nationalists to active action.

On May 4, representatives of S-14 seized the Lusvargi, and through the whole center of Kiev they led to the building of the Security Service. Immediately after that the prosecutor’s office went to court with a motion to arrest the Brazilian, and his case was directed to listen far away from Kiev – to the Pavlograd district court of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Since then, Lusvargi returned to the remand prison, but his story has played with new colors.

The fact is that through the court, Rybin achieved the opening of criminal proceedings against Karas and his nationalist associates. The actions of S-14, committed with his client by right-wing radicals, the defender treats as a terrorist act and kidnapping of a person. In fact, forcing law enforcement officers to provide relevant information to the ERDR, the lawyer became a target for criticism from the nationalists sponsored from the budget. Which, in the final analysis, resulted in an attempt to attack him in the building of the Court of Appeal.

“Radicals” have seized a lawyer’s abode

In response, the lawyer applied to the National Bar Association of Ukraine, asking for an assessment of the situation. An emergency meeting of the relevant committee was appointed on July 31 and, fearing likely provocations, called in advance the police.

However, the presence of law enforcers did not affect the plans of the radicals to disrupt the event of lawyers. They walked unhindered into the room and searched all the same Rybin.

They de facto seized the hall, and after making a few photos, they settled into it in a businesslike way. Subsequently, on their pages in the social networks of S-14, they published a report on the results of the alleged “meeting” they had held.

Lawyers, in turn, did not exert physical resistance, leaving the premises. Their speakers note the actual inaction on the part of the siloviki, hinting at connivance from the authorities to the nationalists.

“Although police officers came to NAAU on time, they did not interfere with representatives of the C-14, whose massive presence and aggressive attitude made it impossible to meet,” said Anna Boriak, head of the committee to protect the rights of lawyers and lawyers.

Comments of lawyers

Lawyer Andrey Tsygankov on his Facebook page:

– And who are they (representatives of C-14 – Ed. Ed.) Such that they tell lawyers what to do? Who is this at all, who without a crowd does not have movement and self-confidence. He says so much that he does not hear his own.

Understand, all of you, activists and dissatisfied lawyer Valentin Rybin, are first effective and professional, since they are so moaning, and secondly clearly shows the low level of professionalism of the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine, its orientation solely for political expediency, and not for the law. Under the guise of war, this prosecutor’s office is engaged in direct racketeering and protection, and activists are actually contributing to this.

Lawyer Andrey Levkovets on his Facebook page:

– For S-14, which does not understand that it is illegal to identify a lawyer with a client, the state also allocated money. The authorities are preparing weapons against peaceful demonstrators, next time the Maidan will be dispersed not by the police, but these nationalists are under the guise of police, as they are doing now with the demolition of stalls, squeezing out plots for construction, etc. But if the institution of the bar is being destroyed right now, during the Maidan people there will be no one to defend in the courts.

Lawyer Larisa Krivoruchko to VectorNews:

– The society has no right to condemn the lawyer for the fact that he is building legal protection for the accused person. The quality of the development of relations in the legal sphere and ensuring the rights of all citizens, as well as the development of Ukraine as a state in which a person, his life and health, honor, dignity, inviolability and security are recognized as the highest social value directly depends on the quality work of the lawyer. Along with this, the inadmissibility of identifying lawyers with clients and their cases during the performance of their duties is an important guarantee of professional activity of lawyers. This principle is enshrined in the Basic Provisions on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by the 8th UN Congress on the Prevention of Crimes in August, 1190, and the Law of Ukraine on the Bar and Advocacy.

Failure to comply with these safeguards violates the right to protection, enshrined in Ukrainian law and generally recognized principles of international law. This, in turn, may call into question the existence of the institution of the Bar of Ukraine as a whole. In this case, the profession of a lawyer will lose its special status and prove ineffective. And as a consequence, citizens simply will not be protected by anyone. What happened in NAAU is not just the identification of a lawyer with a client, but a direct and cynical violation of the rights of lawyers. It’s unlikely that activists understand what their actions can lead to, but the authorities not only can not stay away from such a situation, but must resolutely oppose such displays of disrespect for the bar. We expect an immediate and effective response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police, the Prosecutor’s Office, etc.

Lawyer Eugene Solodko in the commentary “Country”:
– The activity of lawyers is one of the fundamental practices of observing the rule of law and ensuring the effective protection of human rights. However, the state, especially recently (since 2014), these guarantees are ignored in every possible way.

At the same time, the Bar is a self-governing organization, where lawyers solve their own problems without external interference. Including, concerning attraction of colleagues to disciplinary responsibility, up to deprivation of the certificate on the right to engage in advocacy. Nobody, anywhere and never has the right to instruct a lawyer who and how to protect him – this decision is made by the lawyer himself, developing a strategy and tactics of defense, where he can use all methods of protection that are acceptable from the perspective of the law. Any attempts to influence lawyers from outside are expressly prohibited by the law “On the Bar and Advocacy”.

Valentin Rybin protects many clients in resonant criminal proceedings. If the clients selected by someone do not like someone, then this is purely their problem. No one has the right to interfere in the protection process. Including, representatives of the organization S-14 and other structures, which are covered by the position of a certain public. These citizens for some reason decided that they would indicate to whom and how from lawyers to carry out their activities.

What happened is unacceptable from the point of view of laws and the Constitution of Ukraine. And he speaks at least about the professional impotence of representatives of law enforcement agencies, and taking into account the facts that happened earlier – about the system.

Obviously, the state does not need a strong advocacy, against which the actions of the thousands of repressive apparatus in the courts look pale. It is convenient for the state to allow representatives of nationalist organizations to act on lawyers for the realization of their goals. But this does not mean that lawyers do not have legal tools to counter this pressure.

Information taken from: https://strana.ua/articles/analysis/154037-juristy-vs-natsionalisty-dlja-cheho-vlasti-natravlivajut-radikalov-iz-s-14-na-advokatov.html