Judges in the case of ex-Head of Mykolaiv Supreme Court Kniazev claim interference with their work

Following the monitoring of court hearings by the Information and Analysis Centre of the International Society for Human Rights (IAC ISHR) in the case of Vsevolod Kniazev, the panel of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court claimed that their work was discredited.

This was reported by the Court Reporter.

Experts monitored court hearings on 23 July, 30 July and 6 August 2025 in the case of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev.

In particular, they made some observations and warnings about violations of the rights of Vsevolod Kniazev and his lawyers.

For example, at the hearings on 23 and 30 July, the defence insisted on access to the materials of covert investigative actions (CIA) referred to by the prosecution, but the prosecutor refused, stating that they «have no evidential value» and are partially secret. The court dismissed the motion. The monitors stressed that the restriction of access violated the principle of equality of arms and could deprive the defendant of important exculpatory evidence. The defence also challenged the legality of the wiretapping in the home without a court order and asked that all evidence obtained on this basis be declared inadmissible. However, the court refused. This violation, according to experts, falls under the doctrine of «fruit of the poisoned tree» — when illegally obtained evidence entails the inadmissibility of all derivative materials.

At the court hearing on 6 August, the defence stressed that the search of the accused's home had been conducted in violation of the procedure — without witnesses and without a lawyer. The report stated that such actions could call into question the legality of the evidence collected, as Article 8 of the European Convention guarantees the right to privacy.

However, following the publication of these reports, the judges in charge of Kniazev's case, Serhii Moisak, Vira Mykhailenko and Timur Khamzin, informed the High Council of Justice of interference in their work. In their joint statement, they said that the experts were assessing the actions of the judges in terms of consideration of motions before the case was completed.

«In fact, they are discrediting the legitimacy of the trial and thus trying to shape public opinion about the unfairness of the trial and the decisions made by the court», the judges said in their statement.

In addition, on 3 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court published a statement on the inadmissibility of pressure on judges on its website. However, it is not known to whom it was specifically addressed.

The Kniazev 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 Chief Justice 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 Kniazev 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. Prior to 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 Kniazev 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.

As reported earlier, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) decided not to broadcast on YouTube the hearing where the defendants in the case against former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev are being interviewed because of the excessive number of obscene statements. In addition, the judge asked journalists at a regular meeting not to publish verbatim large volumes of conversations, the recordings of which continue to be examined in court.