Ukraine looks with great suspicion at the criminal case against a judge driving drunk

In the central Ukrainian town of Talne, there is a grave and a mound of flowers the size of people lying in the sun. Above him the flag of the National Guard and Ukraine is flapping, there is a strong wind. It is one of thousands of fresh military graves in the country, but the news of this National Guard member’s death has been widely followed.

Vadym Bondarenko (22) was hit by a car at the end of May. At 100 kilometers per hour, Ukrainian judge Oleksi Tandyr drove into a military checkpoint with his black Lexus. It happened on a road leading to Kyiv, at 11:57 pm, three minutes before curfew. Bondarenko, a member of the National Guard, was killed by the blow. Tandyr was probably drinking – he smelled of alcohol and a half-empty bottle of whiskey was in his car, witnesses said. local media.

For many Ukrainians, the case is a symbol of the ‘old’ Ukraine. While the war has changed their lives, they look anxiously over their shoulders in the recent past – at the time of which expelled the corrupt president Viktor Yanukovych is a figure. When Ukrainians break the law with impunity and money and power.

Deeper problems

The victim of the collision, Bondarenko, is from Talne, a small town in the Cherkasy region. It is hilly, sunny, quiet. Two hands from the municipality, Sergej and Petro, painted the wooden benches by the river and now they rest in the shade.

While not everyone knows Bondarenko personally, everyone does NRC on the street talking with the known case. Petro has a scarf with flowers tied against the sun. He is missing some teeth. “It’s always like that here,” he said. “Common people suffer, and that’s all. Such a master, the laws are not written for them.” Petro does not believe that the judge will be punished. “Doubtful, doubtful. It will work fine as always. ”

Among the drivers who were not prosecuted under the law for driving under the influence after an incident are many judges

Dejure Foundation a Ukrainian think tank that aims to promote the rule of law

Petro is not the only one who thinks so. “It may seem like an ordinary case of driving under the influencebut this case exposes a deeper problem.” write foundation Dejure, a Ukrainian think tank that aims to promote the rule of law. “Many judges are among the drivers who were not prosecuted under DUI after an incident.”

The organization has already filed a complaint against judge Tandyr, because he acquitted a fellow judge in 2021. This colleague caused a car accident under the influence in which the other driver broke a cervical vertebra. Complaints against Tandyr did not lead to a disciplinary case.

Reliability of the judicial system

Everyone agrees that the reform of the Ukrainian judicial system is necessary. Steps are taken even during the war. There High Council of Justice, the body of Ukraine that nominates new judges, received a new panel of fifteen judges at the beginning of this year. A qualifications committee was created to evaluate the performance of judges and new judges, overseen by a public integrity board. The Constitutional Court is being reformed. But the process will take several years.

The reliability of the judicial system is a major concern for the government of Vladimir Zelensky. This was shown in a study from February and March of this year 59 percent of respondents do not trust the judiciary at all (20 percent) or hardly (39 percent). This mistrust is there for years.

Such an echo of the old Ukraine is especially painful in wartime. At the time of the collision in Talne, Bondarenko’s father served at the front in Bachmoet. Bondarenko’s wife and three children fled to Finland before the war and could not return in time for the funeral. Many residents came out for the funeral in Talne where he was born. His body was taken to the cemetery with a police escort after a ceremony in the main square.

Civil status

“It is war, and in war, the best, those who first defend their country, die,” said Vasyl Sidko, mayor. But Bondarenko was a soldier and he “died while on duty, but in a civilian situation. It’s even worse. The death of such a young person is a sorrow for the community.”

We will do everything we can, I will do everything we can to ensure that a fair sentence is imposed

Vasyl Sidko mayor of Talne

The community of 31,000 (counted before the war) citizens entrusted “more than 1,000” men in the fight for an independent Ukraine, the mayor said. The fact that one of these men then becomes a victim of ‘friendly fire’ is therefore a hard blow. “We will do everything we can, I will do everything we can to ensure that a fair sentence is imposed,” said Sidko. “No one should have privileges in this. Whether it is a judge, a defense minister or the president, everyone must be responsible for their actions.

Observers at the think tank Dejure take into account a number of scenarios in which manipulation can take place. Lawyer Vladimir Hrysjko told the judges to avoid the sentence because they know the procedure well. With knowledge, smarts and connections, goat paths can be found. For example, the driver can be given a much smaller sentence if he does not consider that he was drunk. The judge initially refused the suspect a drug and alcohol test. It was not until the following evening that blood was drawn from him.

Procrastinate indefinitely

What also often happens in cases against judges, says Hrysjko, is that they allow the case to expire with endless requests and adjournments. If there is no trial at first instance or appeal within ten years, the case will be dropped. This term has recently been increased to prevent such abuses.

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The Bondarenko family lawyer is also more concerned about this practice. “Personally, I am concerned about the presence of mechanisms that allow reasonable delays in the judicial process,” says lawyer Denis Shevchenko. And it’s not just judges who use it, he says.

Shevchenko has yet to see any signs of lag or connection usage by the suspect. The suspect sits in spite of him their own objections ‘just’ in jail at least until August 26. Although it is striking that the results of the blood test obtained under restraint are still not available two months later. nonetheless, a psychological expert stated that the behavior of the judge after the collision indicates the influence of alcohol.

Petro Kapluchenko is an uncle of Bondarenko, the family proposed to speak. He has friendly blue eyes and wears a black t-shirt with the coat of arms of Ukraine. He is an engineer and himself fought in the Donbas in 2015 and 2016. Now he survived his nephew.

On the soccer field in the forest, where Bondarenko spent several days in his youth, Kapluchenko says: “I have never, anywhere seen a case where a judge sentenced another judge,” Kapluchenko said. But there is a bright spot: his cousin was not just any civilian. He was a member of the National Guard. “That makes what happened treacherous.”

Although the judge in question is not on trial for treason, this feeling and the prestige of the institution may cause the models of the old Ukraine to be broken. Attention to the case will also help justice, believes the mayor of Talne. “This is a very high-profile case, and since the court has not released him on bail, I believe that it sends a signal.”