In Mykolaiv, court banned journalists' recording of litigation against deputy accused of taking bribes

On May 18 in Mykolaiv, the judge of the Central district court Volodymyr Aleinikov banned photo-, video- and audio recording of the widely noted trial against Mykilaiv city council deputy, former "Party of Regions" member Serhiy Poliantsev.

On October 16, 2014, Poliantsev was caught in the act of receiving a bribe from a local entrepreneur for permission to set a kiosk in the Central district of Mykolaiv.

The judge banned any type of recording and did not want to listen to warnings that this was against the law regulating the court proceeding. Also, the judge said that journalists were "obstructing" the court session.

On the next day, on May 19, journalist of “Prestupnosti.NET” Olena Melnykova, filed a complaint on this illegal actions of the judge to the High Certifying Commission of judges of Ukraine. She also published an article on this in her blog.