The defense refuted the arguments of the investigator and the prosecutor, and renowned Ukrainian photographer Yevgeny Nikiforov was released from custody in the courtroom.

On March 17, 2021, the Kyiv District Court of Odesa held a hearing on the case regarding the imposition of a pretrial detention order on renowned photographer Yevgen Nikiforov in connection with an alleged traffic accident.

Yevgen Nikiforov is a well-known Ukrainian photographer who is working on a photo project documenting the architecture of Ukrainian villages. It was for this purpose that, on March 14, 2021, he visited the village of Vasylivka in the Bilyayivsky District of the Odesa Region together with his brother. While photographing the village, he and his brother were subjected to a robbery by several individuals who were intoxicated; they demanded the drone belonging to Yevgen Nikiforov, threatened Yevgen Nikiforov’s life, and attempted to injure his brother. In order to protect their own lives and that of his brother, as well as to safeguard their property, Yevgen Nikiforov and his brother were forced to flee from the attackers. However, one of the attackers grabbed Vadim Nikiforov—Yevgeny’s brother—by opening the front passenger door and unlawfully entering the car, prompting Yevgeny Nikiforov to decide to drive away. The attacker did not respond to requests to let go and leave the car, so Yevgeny Nikiforov decided to drive away in the hope that the attacker would release his brother and get out of the car. In the process, as it turned out, the assailant fell and struck his head, which resulted in his death.

The prosecution classified these actions under Part 2 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as a violation of traffic safety rules resulting in the victim’s death—striking a pedestrian.

During the court hearing, the investigator and the prosecutor attempted to prove the validity of this position and requested that the court impose pretrial detention on Yevgeny Nikiforov. In our view, the position of law enforcement officials is puzzling: without fully understanding all the circumstances, they hastily concluded that the well-known photographer should be held in custody as if he were a particularly dangerous criminal, even though he did not commit a crime but was fleeing from a criminal.

The prosecutor and the investigator cited evidence that in no way supports the suspicion against Yevgeny Nikiforov; on the contrary, it refutes it and indicates the need to close the criminal case.

After considering the arguments of both sides, the investigating judge denied the investigator’s motion to remand Yevgeny Nikiforov in custody and released him from custody in the courtroom, imposing nighttime house arrest from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Furthermore, the defense is convinced that no preventive measure whatsoever could have been applied to Yevgeny Nikiforov, let alone detention.

Currently, the defense has filed an appeal with the Odesa Court of Appeals requesting that the investigating judge’s ruling be overturned with regard to the imposition of nighttime house arrest—without the application of any other preventive measure.

Photo source: Anna Farifonova, Grati