Lutsk journalist compensated for attack by ex-official

Lyudmyla Yavorska. Photo shared with IMI representative by Yavorska

Four years after facing obstruction of reporting, Lutsk journalist Lyudmyla Yavorska was compensated for moral damage: she received 1 UAH. The court recovered this symbolic sum from former official Heorhiy Shtefanesa for attacking her, reports journalist and misto.media project manager Lyudmyla Yavorska to Maya Holub, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Volyn oblast.

Lyudmyla Yavorska said that so far the bailiff has only collected the moral damages from the ex-official, but not the attorney's fee. The journalist is still waiting for the legal assistance compensation.

“In October 2024, the Supreme Court tried Shtefanesa’s cassation appeal for obstruction of reporting and found him guilty. The rest of the case, relating to embezzlement during road repairs in the Pidhaytsi community, was sent for retrial to the Court of Appeal. Still, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict regarding my civil claim as a victim for compensation for moral damage and legal aid costs,” Yavorska said.

Heorhiy Shtefanesa. Photo by the Volyn News Service

The journalist explained that it was her who estimated the moral damage at 1 UAH, because she does not want “dirty money”.

“Since I realized that over the years Heorhiy Shtefanesa and his family had been illegally profitting off embezzling the Pidhaytsi budget, I did not want this money. 1 hryvnia is a symbolic sum, it was important for me to establish the fact itself to restore justice,” added Lyudmyla Yavorska.

Previously

On January 4, 2021, in the village of Pidhaytsi, Volyn oblast, the project manager of the Pidhaytsi village council, Heorhiy Shtefanesa, threw his fists at the reporter Lyudmila Yavorska, who came to thePidhaytsi village council to get comments from the deputies regarding the road works on one of the streets, as well as to file an information access request.

On April 19, 2023, the Lutsk City & District Court (Volyn oblast) convicted the former Pidhaytsi village council official, Heorhiy Stefanesa, for embezzling budget funds and assaulting the journalist Lyudmyla Yavorska, sentencing him to five and a half years in prison.

As stipulated by Clause 1 of Art. 70. of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in a set of criminal offenses the more severe penalty absorbs the less severe one, so Stefanesa was sentenced to five and a half years in prison and was banned from holding certain positions for 3 years.

Shtefanesa later asked the Volyn Court of Appeal to overturn the first instance ruling, but the Volyn Court of Appeal upheld the verdict on December 14, 2023.

Lyudmyla Yavorska says that Shtefanesa left Ukraine immediately after the appeal court hearing and is now hiding abroad. In January 2024, Heorhiy Shtefanesa was put on the wanted list.

In 2024, Heorhiy Shtefanesa filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, asking to suspend the enforcement of the Lutsk City & District Court judgement passed on April 19, 2023, while his appeal is being considered. He also asked to cancel the Volyn Court of Appeal ruling dated 14.12.2023.