The developer company Parkovyi-2, affiliated with the State Bureau of Investigation director’s brother, whom Slidstvo.Info has been investigating, has sued the journalists on 13 July, Slidstvo.Info reports.
The plaintiff is asking the court to ban Slidstvo.Info, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, and journalist Alina Stryzhak from publishing information about real estate and financial transactions related to the SBI director’s brother. The investigation in question focuses on 143 real estate objects owned by Oleksandr Sukhachov.
The lawsuit was filed after the editorial tean sent the developer an information query as part of the investigation.
In the lawsuit, LLC Parkovyi-2 claims that the journalists were illegally collecting personal data and commercial intelligence. The company asks the court to ban the release of the information about investment contracts, sums invested, and real estate that is featured in the investigation.
The developer also claims that information about real estate objects owned and agreements concluded is part of an individual’s private life and contains commercial secrets. Moreover, the company claimed that they had to sue before the investigation’s release because the very fact of an investigation being in the works creates a risk of confidential information being disclosed.
Media lawyer Oksana Maksymeniuk says that the claims were identical to the action previously taken by the court to grant the lawsuit.
“This suggests that the court made the decision even before trying it on merits and limited the reporting of socially important information,” Maksymeniuk said.
Previously
On 6 July, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv granted a motion by Parkovyi-2 and temporarily banned Slidstvo.Info, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, and journalist Alina Stryzhak from releasing and distributing the investigation into the assets of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) director’s brother, Oleksandr Sukhachov. In the lawsuit, the company claimed that banning the distribution of this information was not censorship since the law allowed such restrictions in certain cases.
Both Slidstvo.Info and the Anti-Corruption Action Center said that they viewed this as pressure on journalists and an attack on freedom of speech. The journalists will appeal the court’s ruling and seek to release the investigation.
IMI lawyer Volodymyr Zelenchuk has said that the court ban on publishing the unreleased investigation had the characteristics of a SLAPP.
On 7 July, the Media Movement along with several media and human rights organisations expressed concern about possible systemic pressure on investigative journalism by law enforcement agencies.
The Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv has stated that the ban on publishing the investigation was temporary.