Court rules that Rivne police must provide "classified" information to journalists

The Rivne District Administrative Court obliged the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Rivne Region to respond to the request of the "Chetverta vladya" journalist, providing her with information on the results of the examinations in the criminal case on the alleged embezzlement of 29 million hryvnias. This is reported by "The Fourth Power".

Journalist Anna Khinochyk filed the lawsuit in March 2024 to get an answer to her query to the police. The Rivne oblast National Police HQ had refused to provide her with the reasons for closing the proceedings in the City Hospital No. 2 embezzlement case or with the results of the examinations conducted in the case. According to the police, the requested information was classified.

According to the Rivne District Administrative Court judge Serhiy Boriskin, who tried the case, the police representatives attached no evidence to the case materials that would confirm that the information about the conducted examinations was "classified".

Therefore, the judge ruled that information on the types of examinations and the names of the institutions that conducted these examinations, their start and end dates, and results is public. Access to this information cannot be restricted.

Moreover, the court stressed that the information requested by the journalist is of significant public interest and the public's right to know this information outweighs the potential harm from sharing it.

The police have until November 20 to file an appeal.

Previously

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.

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.