The court resumed hearing the case on June 8.
“This statement, purported to be the response of the Prosecutor General’s Office, is another farce and attempt to hide truth,” Podolsky declared. “However, we want to return to this issue after we make our motions, while the trial is still in the preparatory phase. I ask my representative Oleksandr Yeliashkevych to announce them.”
Afterwards, the victim in the case announced eight motions, sensational in character. They demanded to call as witnesses President Poroshenko, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, Prosecutor General Shokin, former president Kuchma, former speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Lytvyn, former head of the Presidential Administration Medvedchuk, judge of Pechersk District Court Melnyk, and former MP Omelchenko.
The motion was put to discussion by the parties to the trial. For instance, representatives of public prosecution said the evidence against Oleksii Pukach was complete enough and corroborated during the sentencing held in the Pechersk court. Therefore, there was no need to question other persons in that case. “The victim’s motions should not be granted,” the prosecutor said.
Legal representative of Myroslava Gongadze, Valentyna Telychenko, opposed the motion as well. “All the circumstances of rigging this case have nothing in common with circumstances concerning accusation against Pukach. Therefore, they should be considered separately. It is prematurely to call witnesses at this point. We must first hear appeals on the merits, so at this stage, the court should deny the victim and his representatives’ motions.”
“The essence of my appeal is judge Melnyk’s rigging of the trial held in the Pechersk court,” Podolsky told The Day. “Through exposing these witnesses and questioning them in court, we just want to prove that the district court trial was rigged, and therefore the Court of Appeal must launch a new judicial investigation, which will determine Pukach’s motives, with us proving that he acted on Kuchma and Lytvyn’s orders.”
After consultations in the deliberation room, the jury decided to adjourn till 12 p.m. on June 9 in order to work out Podolsky’s motions for calling witnesses.
