Judge to UOJ journalist: What are we supposed to do, listen to you?

Valeriy Stupnitsky speaks in court via video link. Photo: screenshot of UOJ video

On July 3, 2024, a session was held in the Court of Appeals to consider the appeal of UOJ journalist Valeriy Stupnitsky against the decision of the Solomianskyi court to extend his detention for another two months until August 12, 2024. The authorities refused to transport Stupnitsky to the court building, instead connecting him to the session via video link from the pre-trial detention center.

The panel of judges – V. Gul., Ya. Melnyk, Yu. Matvienko – decided to reject the appeal and keep the journalist in custody.

The session had several notable features.

In particular, V. Stupnitsky was not given a full opportunity to speak in his defense. During his speech, one of the three judges interrupted him, stating that "they are not here to listen to articles." The lawyer's remark that this information was directly related to the case did not convince the judge. He told the defense that the judges did not convene to analyze the case materials. The judge then gave the floor to the prosecutor, who assured the attendees that the suspicion against the journalist was "well-substantiated".

The judges retired to the deliberation room for no more than two minutes. The entire session lasted about 13-15 minutes.

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As the UOJ previously reported, the SBU added new charges to the UOJ case.

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