EU court reportedly lifts sanctions against ex-PG Pshonka
The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided to lift sanctions against former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka, European Pravda reported on July 26 with reference to the court's decision.
"The decision of the Council (CFSP) 2022/376 of March 3, 2022, regarding restrictive measures against certain individuals, entities, and bodies concerning the situation in Ukraine, is annulled in part, insofar as the name of Viktor Pavlovych Pshonka remains on the list of individuals, entities, and bodies subject to these restrictive measures," European Pravda reported.
The same decision was made in relation to his son, Artem Pshonka.
The EU Court of Justice stated that the decision to lift the sanctions against Pshonka and his son was allegedly due to "errors in the EU Council's assessments" and doubts that they were based on a sufficiently "solid factual basis."
The judgment also states that "it is not clear whether the EU has been satisfied that the Ukrainian judicial administration respects the right to defense in local criminal proceedings".
Sanctions against Pshonka were imposed on March 6, 2014 for embezzlement of public funds. They included the freezing of assets.
At the same time, the sanctions list included former President Viktor Yanukovych, his son Oleksandr, former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, former head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Klyuyev, former Deputy Interior Minister Viktor Ratushniak, former First Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov, former Minister of Revenues and Duties Oleksandr Klymenko, former Energy Minister Eduard Stavytskyi, former Education Minister Dmytro Tabachyk, and oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko.
In early 2021, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said it was possible that some sanctions against Yanukovych and his associates could be lifted, noting that the restrictive measures had already played their role and were no longer effective.
On Sept. 14, 2022, the EU lifted some of the sanctions against former President Viktor Yanukovych, his son Oleksandr, as well as Pshonka and his son.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
