For the first time in Ukraine, a city council and a state law enforcement agency may face off in court. The Dnipro City Council plans to file a defamation suit against false information disseminated by the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Dnipro City Council has retained attorneys from the Barristers Law Firm to defend against the SBU’s false information. This is the first case in Ukraine where a local government body is prepared to file a lawsuit against one of the country’s most powerful state law enforcement agencies.

On February 21, 2020, a press conference was held with the participation of attorneys from the “Barristers” Law Firm—Oleksiy Shevchuk, Kostiantyn Hloba, Yulia Belova, and Inna Tetska, during which they reported instances of the Dnipro City Council and Dnipro Mayor Boris Albertovich Filatov being discredited by the SBU press service in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

As Oleksiy Shevchuk, a partner and attorney at the “Barristers” Law Firm, personally told “Special Correspondents,” on the eve of the press conference, an unknown person called him and rudely threatened him with physical violence. The attorney reported this incident to the National Police, and following the report, a criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Article 129 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—threats of murder.

Subsequently, it became known that attorney Oleksiy Shevchuk, as a partner at Barristers Law Firm—which provides services to protect the business reputation of the Dnipro City Council and Mayor Boris Albertovich Filatov— contacted the State Security Service regarding the threats to request state security protection for himself and his colleagues, as there is a real threat to their lives and health as a result of their professional activities.