Chief of Bukovyna Forestry Office loses appeal in lawsuit against Chernivtsi journalist

Vasyl Honchar, director of the Podillya Forestry Office, lost the appeal in his lawsuit against Chernivtsi journalist Svitlana Isachenko. The journalist reported this to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Chernivtsi oblast.

The Chernivtsi Court of Appeal heard Honchar's appeal on August 5 and dismissed the claim, upholding the ruling of the first instance court.

According to Svitlana Isachenko, no one from the plaintiff's side was present in the courtroom and the hearing lasted several minutes.

The subject of the lawsuit was several Facebook posts by the journalist, where she reported issues in the local forestry business. In his statement of claim, Vasyl Honchar said that the journalist's posts were defamatory and demanded that she be ordered to retract her statements and take down the false information she posted. The Bukovyna chief of forestry also wanted Isachenko to pay the court fee and reimburse UAH 20,000 to his lawyer.

Svitlana Isachenko noted that she was certain of her victory, because all her critical articles, namely those about forestry and Vasyl Honchar, are fact-based.

"All of them (articles. – Ed.), as a rule, are supported by official documents. I am convinced that the director of the Podillya Forestry Office, as well as all senior executives of the monopolistic state-owned enterprise 'Forests of Ukraine', should bear responsibility for the embezzlement of forest resources, especially on an industrial scale, which was organized by their own employees. Forests, which are national property and belong to the people of Ukraine, according to the Constitution, should be serving the economic interests of the state and the local communities, and not turn into a source of illegal profit for some industry managers," says Isachenko.

When asked by the IMI to comment the lawsuit, Vasyl Honchar, said he was flattered by the attention, but declined to comment.

On April 9, 2024 a district court in Chernivtsi dismissed a lawsuit by Podillya Forestry Office director Vasyl Honchar, who sued journalist Svitlana Isachenko over three Facebook posts.

Later, Vasyl Honchar appealed the district court ruling, but failed to pay the court fee. The court fee was paid a few days later and the court began the hearings.

Svitlana Isachenko is a journalist and investigator who has worked in "Dzerkalo Tyzhnia", "Uryadovyi Courier".