Appeals Court upholds personal obligations as preventive measure for MP Leros

KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv’s Court of Appeal has upheld the measure of restraint for independent member of Parliament of Ukraine Geo Leros in the form of personal obligations.

"Having gone to the deliberation room, after a call from Zelensky’s Office, they left my measure of restraint in force," Leros wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday following the consideration of the defense’s appeal against the decision of the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv.

"Based on the decision of the Court of Appeal, the only thing that remains for me is to appeal to the ECHR with a complaint about violation of Article 6 of the Convention, as well as Article 18 (application of restrictions on rights and freedoms … for the purpose of political persecution)," the deputy said.

As reported, on November 18, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv refused to satisfy the motion of the prosecutor’s office to choose a measure of restraint for independent MP Geo Leros in the form of house arrest, imposing personal obligations on him.

"I do not agree with the court’s decision, we will appeal," Leros told reporters after the court’s decision had been announced. He noted that the suspicions put forward against him are unfounded, therefore, preventive measures should not be applied as such.

The defense reported then that one suspicion was brought against Leros within the framework of the joint criminal proceedings, and in the very petition for the election of a preventive measure, there are two episodes – under Article 382 of the Criminal Code (failure to comply with a court decision) and a criminal offense in connection with hooligan actions in the Verkhovna Rada.

On November 12, the SBI notified Ukrainian parliamentarian Geo Leros of the suspicion of non-compliance with the court decision, which came into legal force.

According to the SBI press service, this is about the Kyiv’s Court of Appeal ruling dated August 11, 2021 on recognizing the information about Denys Yermak as unreliable and defaming the honor, dignity and business reputation, which Leros disseminated on social networks in March 2020. The court ordered the MP to refute the information he had disseminated by setting out the relevant text on his page; the court ruling dated August 11, 2021 came into legal force.

In addition, the SBI served suspicion notice to Leros for demonstrating an indecent gesture inside the walls of parliament.

Investigators of the SBI, as part of the investigation of criminal proceedings, established that on November 4, 2021, the MP, speaking from the parliamentary rostrum, spoke insultingly against the highest officials of the state. Leros is suspected of gross violation of public order based on clear disrespect for society (Part 1 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

On March 29, Leros posted on his Facebook page several short videos in which a man who looks like the brother of head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, Denys, discusses the appointment to public offices.

On March 30 of the same year, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) opened a criminal inquiry into Leros’ claim of potential corruption during the appointment of state officials, and the State Bureau of Investigations opened a criminal inquiry into the sale of public offices allegedly by Yermak.

On June 11, 2020, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said it opened two criminal proceedings on the publication and content of recordings of conversations of the brother of head of the Presidential Office, Denys Yermak (the so-called Yermak recordings).