"Chetverta Vlada" journalist sues police over request refusal

Anna Khinochyk. Photo by Chetverta Vlada

"Chetverta Vlada" journalist Anna Khinochyk is suing the Rivne Oblast National Police over their refusal to provide the information she requested on the police examinations conducted in the course of the investigation into an expensive hospital equipment purchase.

As follows from the judgement by the Rivne District Administrative Court, the proceedings in the journalist's lawsuit were closed in late May. The case is currently being tried by the Administrative Court of Appeal No. 8.

Last year, Anna Khinochyk investigated the purchase of a robotic walking restoration system for Rivne City Hospital No. 2 for 29 million hryvnias. The journalist proved that the equipment was bought at an inflated price and that its effectiveness is doubtful.

The police also investigated this purchase, but closed the case in January 2023 for unknown reasons.

In February, having learned that the case had been closed, Anna Khinochyk submitted a public information request to the police, asking for information about the examinations (and their results) conducted within the proceedings.

The police refused to provide the information, claiming that it was classified, since it contained data from the pre-trial investigation, which can only be disclosed with written consent by the investigator and the prosecutor.

Disagreeing with the refusal, the journalist appealed in the Rivne District Administrative Court. In the lawsuit, she asked to order the police to provide the information she requested and argued that the data that the police refused to provide is public and of public interest.

In her comment to the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information, Anna Khinochyk said that she consulted with a lawyer before suing.

"We consider this information to be public and socially important, because we are talking about nearly 29 million hryvnias spent, perhaps wasted. The money belongs to the Rivne community. The police investigated whether the price was inflated. We believe that it is important for the Rivne community to hear what examinations the police conducted, what they discovered and why they closed the proceedings. That is, what were the grounds for closing it. I didn't get an answer to all this, so we filed the lawsuit," says Anna Khinochyk.

Despite the journalist's arguments, the Rivne District Administrative Court closed the proceedings in the case on May 21, 2024. According to the court, the information requested by the journalist is criminal case files, which are obtained in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code. And the Code provides a special procedure for accessing case files in a criminal investigation.

Disagreeing with the court's judgement, Anna Khinochyk appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeal No. 8, which opened proceedings in the case on July 8, 2024. The Court of Appeal will hear the journalist's complaint on August 7.

As a reminder, the hospital equipment supplier company has already sued the journalist, but lost the trial.

Since martial law was introduced, "Chetverta Vlada" journalists have been facing refusals of access to public information more frequently, which is why they are suing various authorities.