Anna Sergienko, judge of the Solomensky District Court of Kiev, informed the High Council of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor General that she faced pressure from the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Kiev. This was reported on November 10 by the Turkmen news edition with reference to the Ukrainian "Judicial-Legal Newspaper ".

As the judge said, criminal proceedings are underway on charges of a group of citizens of Turkmenistan of committing crimes under Art. 187 (robbery), art. 189 (extortion) and Art. 289 (illegal seizure of a vehicle) of the Criminal Code.

This case has been in court since 2018, and in the proceedings of Anna Sergienko since 2021.

According to the judge, on November 2, representatives of the Embassy of Turkmenistan attended the hearing. When the panel of judges was in the deliberation room, they "in violation of the established order" talked to the accused in the courtroom.

In addition, on November 4, the Solomensky court received a letter from the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Ukraine, Toili Ataev , stating that close relatives of the defendants are concerned about the lengthy trial, so the embassy asks the judge to expedite the consideration of the criminal proceedings and make a decision.

The judge noted in her message to the Council of Justice that “the procedure for criminal proceedings on the territory of Ukraine is determined only by the country's criminal procedural legislation,” and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations establishes that diplomatic workers are obliged to respect the laws of the country of their stay.

“All official affairs with the host state are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country,” said Anna Sergienko.

Now, the Supreme Council of Justice will deal with the situation, the Ukrainian edition concludes.

As previously reported , citizens of Turkmenistan have been held in a pre-trial detention center in Kiev for two years on suspicion of robbery, bodily harm and car theft. They face up to 12 years in prison. The court hearings are held every two months, but the verdict has not yet been announced.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan