Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv has refused to question Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, and former Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka in the case of the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet. This was stated by Judge Oksana Golub during the court hearing, RBC-Ukraine reports.
The relevant request to question high-ranking officials was made by the defense party. It believes that officials need to clarify the circumstances of the case they have already learned about.
"These persons were not direct witnesses to the circumstances, which have to be proved in this criminal proceeding, and cannot be considered as witnesses according to Article 65 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine," the judge emphasized.
As we reported earlier, Reporter Pavlo Sheremet deceased due to a bomb explosion in Kyiv in summer 2016.
In December 2019, the police detained three suspects - Andriy Antonenko, Yana Duhar, and Yulia Kuzmenko. Later, the women were put under house arrest.
Antonenko is still behind the bars; in July, the court ruled to extend his detention until September 17.
