Court can release Kokhanivsky, but disorder is unacceptable

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has stated the unacceptability of "party courts" and disorder, adding that the court will choose a measure of restraint not related to detention with respect to OUN volunteer battalion commander Mykola Kokhanivsky.

"The situation in the Sviatoshynsky court was not easy, and this is another important point from which the signal should come - the law is one for all... No one has the right to make a decision instead of the court, especially his [Kokhanivsky's] party. The precedents of party courts should not be allowed," he told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday, when asked to comment on the situation in the Sviatoshynsky District Court of Kyiv, which is to select a measure of restraint for Kokhanivsky.

He recalled a conflict between an anti-terrorist operation (ATO) soldier and the OUN battalion commander and the development of the situation.

"Mr. Kokhanivsky was handed a notice of suspicion, but he refused to sign it. After that it was handed again," Lutsenko said, adding that from the moment of the first and second notices of suspicion no more than 72 hours should pass before Kokhanivsky could leave the courtroom.

"Seventy-two hours will come tonight. That is, yesterday he could not de jure be freed... Kokhanivsky should be in the hands of justice, in a detention center, at least until today," he added.

At the same time, Lutsenko said: "This does not mean that I know what the court decision will be like. I even think that the court will leave him outside the detention center and select another measure of restraint – bail, round-the-clock arrest or even night arrest. This will be decided by the court."

As reported, on October 23, Sviatoshynsky District Court started to select a preventive measure for Kokhanivsky, who on October 21 during a personal conflict near the Akademmistechko metro station opened fire from a pistol, causing injuries to his opponent.

In court, the activists who defend Kokhanivsky used the existing furniture to block the entrance to the courtroom when the police arrived. Activists broke the furniture used it to try to push back the law-enforcers. Then the police were forced to use tear gas. After that, Kokhanivsky's supporters began to break windows. As a result, they stayed in the courtroom overnight.

On Tuesday morning, law enforcers drove activists and Kokhanivsky supporters out of the courtroom of Sviatoshynsky District Court, having dismantled the barricade. The whole operation took several minutes. Some 30 people were detained and taken to Shevchenkivsky district police department of Kyiv, among them were two journalists.

The court will consider the issue of choosing a preventive measure for Kokhanivsky in another room.

Kokhanivsky's associates and other activists are still present outside the court building.