Case description
On November 8, 2022, the HACC found Ruslan Yukhymuk, a former judge of the Sievierodonetsk City Court, guilty in absentia of forgery, receiving a USD 4,000 bribe for “dodging jail,” and illegal possession of ammunition.
In 2015, Yukhymuk considered the prosecutor's office's motion to determine the term of the convicted person's unexpired sentence and transfer him to the Starobilsk pre-trial detention center. The man was sentenced to 5 years in prison, which he began to serve in the Petrovska Corrective Labor Colony No. 24. When the colony was seized by the “LPR” militants, the convict was released on parole.
The Ukrainian prosecutor's office initiated his serving the remainder of the sentence. The convict arrived at the court and met with Yukhymuk's accomplice, Akhmedov Alikhman, who planned to offer “help” in avoiding prison: he promised to negotiate with the judge to dismiss the prosecutor's motion for a USD 2,000 bribe. Since the convict did not have that kind of money, he was offered to lift the seizure of his car, which could be sold, using forged documents. The judge and his accomplice also estimated this service at USD 2,000. The total amount of the improper advantage amounted to USD 4,000.
The convict appealed to the SSU and then transferred the money in several tranches to an intermediary, who shared it with the judge. In mid-December 2015, Yukhymuk's office and home were searched: in addition to the marked banknotes, 11 rounds of 9-mm ammunition made in 1951 were found, which he was keeping illegally.
Due to judicial immunity, Yukhymuk could not be detained. He managed to escape by travelling to Russia in January 2016 through the Prosiane checkpoint. He never returned, and the Verkhovna Rada authorized his detention only in April 2016.
Akhmedov Alikhman, judge's accomplice, concluded a plea agreement. In 2017, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 3 years in prison.
Judge Yukhymuk's actions were classified under Article 368, part 3; Article 358, part 3; Article 263, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property and a 3-year ban on holding the position of judge. The appellate instance upheld the verdict in absentia.
