Journalist won appeal against police on failure to provide public information

The Second administrative court of appeal upheld the decision of the Poltava district administrative court dated of November 14, 2018 in a lawsuit filed by the chief editor of the "Visit" television station Anna Plaksiy to the Poltava police. Anna Plaksiy complained over the the police denying her to provide access to public information. The judges issued this decision on April 25, 2019, as to Unified state register of judgments. In particular, the court dismissed the appeal filed by the Poltava regional police against the decision of the Poltava District Administrative Court in this case. According to “Kremenchukska gazeta”, on July 23, 2018, Plaksiy appealed to the Poltava district Administrative court with the claim against the head of the Kremenchug police department Vitaliy Botvyn, who refused to provide to Plaksiy with an answer to the inquiry letter of January 25, 2018. On January 25, 2018, a journalist sent an inquiry letter to Botvyn asking about the progress within the case of unlawful activity of Olena Prodan, head of the investigating department of the Kremenchuk police department in the Poltava region. Plaksiy asked to provide statistical data on the activities of investigators within the period when Olena Prodan had been in the office of head of the investigation department. However, she received a reply signed by Vitaliy Botvyna with some false information and denial to provide answers to some of the questions. On March 27, 2018, the journalist filed a complaint against the head of police of the town and requested to hold an internal investigation on Botvyna and other of his colleagues activity and demanded to subject them to disciplinary action. On May 10, 2018, a journalist received a reply from the regional police department in which the regional police department of acknowledged that Botvyna had improperly formulated the reply. On November 14, 2018, the Poltava district administrative court stated that Vitaliy Botvyna acted contrary to the law, as he failed to redirect the journalist inquiry letter to the expert at the main directorate of the police in Poltava region. The police department filed an appeal against the decision of the court of the first instance.