Police are conducting searches at the registered offices of three activists and co-founders of the NGO “Ukrainian Cyber Alliance.”
This is stated in a post on the organization’s Facebook page.

“On the morning of February 25, searches are being conducted at the registered addresses of civic activists and co-founders of the NGO ‘Ukrainian Cyber Alliance.’ At this time, we do not have more detailed information regarding the reason for these actions. We view these actions by the National Police of Ukraine as political pressure on our activists,” the organization stated.

In his ruling dated February 20, 2020, Investigating Judge O.O. Starikov granted the motion filed by the senior investigator of the Malynovskyi District Police Department in Odesa, part of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, which had been coordinated with the prosecutor of the Odesa Local Prosecutor’s Office No. 2, for permission to conduct a search at the residence where one of the individuals involved in the case actually lives.

As Vadym Kolokolnikov, an attorney with the “Barristers” Law Firm who is representing one of the individuals involved in the case, told Special Correspondents, the operative part of the ruling grants permission to conduct a search for the purpose of identifying and documenting information regarding the circumstances of the commission of a criminal offense and locating items and objects that constitute material evidence in these criminal proceedings.

Despite the fact that the ruling did not specifically authorize the seizure of any items during the search, police officers seized a number of items (computers, phones, etc.). In doing so, they exceeded their authority and violated the provisions of current Ukrainian law.

Furthermore, the search warrant did not clearly specify who was authorized to conduct the search.

All procedural violations committed during the search were documented and will be challenged in accordance with current Ukrainian law,” said Vadym Kolokolnikov, an attorney at Barristers Law Firm.