The Supreme Council of Justice will review complaints against the judge who handed down a verdict on the rape of a girl in Transcarpathia
[ad_1]
Complaints against judge Oksana Sofilkanych, who considered the case of the rape of a girl in Transcarpathia and sentenced three minor offenders to probation, will be reviewed by the Supreme Council of Justice. Human rights defenders emphasize that such a decision was taken in connection with the active discussion in the mass media of the verdict of the Volovetsky district court of Zakarpattia region. “At the stage of the pre-trial investigation, based on the collected evidence, the investigators had no hesitation in the qualification they chose. It was Part 3 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code, specifically rape by a group of persons,” said Anna Dan, spokeswoman for the National Police of the Zakarpattia region. It was already written in the verdict that the boys committed acts of a sexual nature, not related to penetrating the body of the minor victim. Photo: Tinnakorn/Deositphotos Accordingly, the verdict was handed down under another article – Part 3 of Art. 153 of the Criminal Code, which provides for a milder punishment. “The Supreme Council of Justice shares the concerns of the public, the journalistic community, and authorized persons of the authorities regarding the objectivity of the conducted pre-trial and judicial investigation in the specified case”, – it is noted on the VRP website. The VRP notes that they cannot raise the issue of opening a disciplinary case on their own initiative due to reports in the mass media. However, they add that anyone has the right to file a disciplinary complaint against a judge. Disciplinary responsibility is foreseen if it is proved that the judges’ actions were incorrect (Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine). It is about “intentional or illegal denial of access to justice as a result of negligence. Also, another significant violation of the law during its implementation, if it made the legal process impossible and led to significant negative consequences.” Law enforcement officers remind that they are not authorized to intervene in court proceedings, evaluate evidence, check the legality and reasonableness of court decisions, or comment on them. “Verification of the legality and reasonableness of the court decision belongs exclusively to the competence of the court of the highest instance, in this case – the court of appeal,” – added the VRP. According to them, the verdict of the court of first instance has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed. The prosecutor’s office will appeal the verdict in accordance with the procedure established by law. We will remind, in Transcarpathia, in the village of Verkhni Vorota, twin brothers and another 15-year-old boy raped a 14-year-old girl in 2021. On August 24, they lured the girl to the yard of one of them, and then to the basement. One of the children punched the girl in the stomach, and then they took turns raping her and filming the abuse. Read also: The Ombudsman took up the case of the rape of a girl in Transcarpathia: rights were grossly violated
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
