On January 24, 2020, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court denied in its entirety a motion filed by a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which had been approved by a prosecutor from the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, to impose a preventive measure on Boris Babin, a legal advisor to the “Barristers,” who in 2015 served as the Government Commissioner for the European Court of Human Rights.

In the motion dated January 22, the prosecution requested that Boris Babin be subject to a pretrial measure in the form of detention on bail set at 16 million hryvnias. However, following investigative proceedings—during which the defense was led by “Barristers” partner Oleksandr Shadrin—the prosecutor amended the motion to request house arrest during nighttime hours.

During the court hearing on the motion, Boris Babin’s defense was represented by “Barristers” partner Oleksandr Shadrin and “Barristers” attorneys Maksym Dzhevaga and Mykola Pashkovsky. The court hearing was broadcast by a number of media outlets; among others, People’s Deputy Bohdan Yaremenko, People’s Deputy of the 8th convocation Serhiy Vysotsky, Eskender Bariev, a member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, and Bogdan Ustymenko, a prominent international lawyer and attorney.

The court’s reasoning for rejecting the motions filed by NABU and the SAP will be available after the full text of the ruling is announced on January 29 at 5:30 p.m.