Acquittal Of Ex Drug Addict Is A Unique Precedent – Program Graduate
A lawyer and graduate of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program, Natalia Doroshenko, told Hromadske Radio about an extraordinary court case and the specifics of defending vulnerable clients.
Konstantin Sirotkin was on the wanted list 2 years ago and at that time he was in rehab. The prosecutor’s office requested three years of imprisonment, but the Court of Appeal believed the former drug addict and left the verdict of the first instance – a suspended sentence for drug possession.
“I consider this case to be unique both for judicial practice and for the existence of rehabilitation in Ukraine. When the new Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine entered into force in 2013, the system of free legal aid has launched, a huge flow of clients with alco- and drug addiction followed, these were people without a place of residence. There were such cases when they came out on the acquittal, and we did not know what to do with them further. Then we began to look for different ways. So I met with the guys who were engaged in rehabilitation. For me, this case is very important, because prior to this decision of the Court of Appeal, the judges turned a deaf ear to us. Afterwards the judges took our side, not the side of the prosecution”, – the lawyer commented.
Read more on the Hromadske Radio web page.
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The “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program was developed during 2016-2017 with the support of the project “Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine” with an expert contribution from the Canadian Bar Association. The “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program is being implemented by the Ukrainian Bar Association and the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers, with the support of the United States Embassy and The Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine (QALA) Project funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
