The National Police of Donetsk closed the case regarding the interference of the “Schemes” journalist in the activities of the judge

The National Police in Slovyansk (Donetsk region) closed the criminal proceedings regarding the possible interference in the activities of the judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court Lyudmila Arestova due to the lack of a criminal offense.

The press service of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office informed "Radio Svoboda" ["Radio Liberty"] about this.

The Slovyansk District Prosecutorʼs Office opened a case against "Radio Svoboda" journalist Heorhii Shabaev on July 27, because Ludmila Arestova, who the journalists found to have Russian citizenship, filed an application against him.

Then the judge declared "interference in the administration of justice with the aim of discrediting it." She also wrote that the author of the investigation "actively cooperates with the aggressor country during the war with the Russian Federation", "passes the collected information to the special services of the Russian Federation" and "carries out illegal surveillance".

This information was disseminated in the media. Within a few hours, National Police investigators closed the case.

• Earlier, "Schemes" found out that the judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court Lyudmila Arestova is a Russian citizen. Arestova received a Russian passport in 2014 on the basis of the so-called treaty on the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation. The Russian tax office found her individual tax number of a taxpayer in Russia. In May 2014, Judge Arestova flew to Moscow, and during 2018-2022 she spent more than 250 days in occupied Crimea.