Court asks journalists not to publish verbatim conversations of defendants in Kniazev case

The presiding judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court in the case of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev asked journalists not to publish verbatim significant amounts of conversations, the records of which continue to be examined in court.

This was reported by Court Reporter.

Earlier it was reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) decided not to broadcast on YouTube the session where the recordings of conversations between the defendants in the case against former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev are heard, because of too many obscene statements.

In addition, the court also advised journalists not to disseminate significant parts of the conversations verbatim.

«The presiding judge asked the journalists present in the courtroom not to publish large amounts of the recordings verbatim so that it would not affect the future testimony of witnesses», writes the Court Reporter.

It should be noted that the case against Vsevolod Kniazev is being heard in open court.

It is known that the case involves a notary and former deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council, Kyrylo Horburov, with whom Kniazev had «close and friendly communication». Horburov cooperated with the investigation when it was already in its active phase.

The Knyazev case

In May 2023, the NABU and the SAPO announced that they had uncovered a scheme to obtain undue benefits by the leadership and judges of the Supreme Court. Law enforcers detained the current head of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniazev, and seized $2.7 million.

It was reported that former Mykolaiv City Council deputy and notary Kyrylo Horburov is one of the participants in the scheme at the Supreme Court of Ukraine, in which, according to NABU detectives, Chief Justice Vsevolod Knyazev was detained for a bribe of almost $3 million.

The Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev and his accomplice, a lawyer, were also served with a notice of suspicion in the bribery case. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has released wiretapping records of Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev in the bribery case.

On 30 January 2024, the court reduced Kniazev's bail from 20 million hryvnias to 18.168 million hryvnias. He was released on bail from the pre-trial detention centre on 31 January. Before that, his bail had already been reduced 6 times. The previous time, on 21 December 2023, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court reduced the bail by 7 million hryvnias to 20 million hryvnias.

On 26 December 2023, the HACC investigating judge, at the request of the NABU detective, agreed by the SAPO prosecutor, limited the defence's time to review the case file. The deadline for familiarisation is 1 March inclusive.

In May 2024, a panel of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court extended the term of office of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev, but exempted him from wearing an electronic bracelet. This was reported by Transparency International Ukraine. Vsevolod Kniazev still has to report to the court prosecutor at the first request, not to leave Ukraine, refrain from communicating with witnesses, and hand over his passports for travelling abroad. At the same time, the HACC panel decided to remove Knyazev's electronic bracelet, as the former Supreme Court chief said that he had no electricity and no connection for six hours at his residence «, so the bracelet was ineffective». Kniazev also claims that the bracelet has a negative impact on his health. In July 2024, Vsevolod Kniazev, a former head of the Supreme Court from Mykolaiv, was stopped at a border checkpoint in the village of Solotvyno in Zakarpattia region.

In December 2024, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the High Council of Justice to dismiss former Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev from his position as a Supreme Court judge.

Also, read about how the case of Judge Vsevolod Knyazev developed, why law enforcement officers call him the organiser of a criminal group, and how the authorities reacted to the case of Ukraine's top corrupt official.