Ukraine courts sentence saboteur, fail to review corruption cases

A court sentenced a Ukrainian citizen to 7.5 years in
a penal colony in a Nov. 14 ruling that concluded he committed treason and sabotage
in his attempt to destroy a strategic site. The 22-year-old saboteur was a
resident of the Rivne region, where he was sentenced. The court found that he
transferred detailed information about a strategic site in the Rivne region to
Russian intelligence agents. Then in May 2018, the saboteur attempted to
detonate an explosive device at the base of an electric support system.

Of 166 criminal cases investigated by the National
Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and submitted to courts as of end-October, 48
cases (29% of them) have yet to be reviewed, the bureau announced on Nov. 12.
Only 35 cases reached a verdict, most of which involved a plea agreement or
secondary participants in crimes avoiding conviction.

Zenon Zawada: This
information reveals that the Ukrainian courts are handling sabotage and treason
cases far more seriously than corruption cases. In a time of war, this makes
sense. But the Ukrainian people, as demonstrated with the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan
protest, are just as interested in a fight against corruption. Unfortunately,
the courts are not acting effectively, which is a major source of public
dissatisfaction with the Poroshenko administration.

Moreover, the bureau didn’t offer information on
how many criminal convictions were reached among the 35 verdicts, and what were
the penalties for those convicted. We are confident the figures are not
inspiring. Next year’s launch of an independent High Anti-Corruption Court, as
demanded by the IMF, is aimed at producing convictions and punishments. Yet the
scandals involving both the anti-corruption bureau, and the specialized
anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, are beginning to cast doubt on the court’s
potential for effective work.