“Holos” considers court’s verdict against Sternenko unfair: “Everyone can be in Serhii’s shoes”

The Holos party leader Kira Rudyk voiced support for activist Serhii Sternenko, who was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Odesa Prymorskyi District Court on Tuesday, finding him guilty of kidnapping Serhii Shcherbych, a deputy of the Kominternivskyi district council.

"Remember that in our country, everyone can be in Sternenko's shoes. Hold on, Serhii," Rudyk wrote on her Facebook page.

In turn, the deputy of the Holos faction in the Kyiv City Council, former head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Maksym Nefiedov called Sternenko's sentence "a disgrace to the law enforcement and judicial system" and "revenge of the Russian hydra."

A statement from the Holos party called Sternenko's sentence "another demonstration that the judicial system in Ukraine has become an instrument of pressure and the removal of undesirables; instead of the rule of law, the right to phone calls works."

"Holos considers the court's verdict unfair, which threw Serhii behind bars for seven years and three months for alleged kidnapping, where the only witness is the alleged victim. We hope for justice to be restored during the appeal. And we insist the problem must be solved globally; only the reform of the judiciary will restore justice and people's trust in the courts," the statement said.