Ukrainian journalist Ruslan Kotsaba earlier charged with high treason for his public calls to ignore military draft was acquitted by the Court of Appeal in Ivano-Frankivsk region Thursday.
Kotsaba`s lawyer in his final speech has stressed that the charges claiming the defendant allegedly impeding the activities of the armed forces of Ukraine are unfounded, according to Halka news outlet.
He also said that none of the witnesses who spoke in court said anything about the actual effect of Kotsaba`s calls on mobilization.
In turn, the prosecutor noted that the court had failed to examine the evidence in full, which made it impossible to find Kotsaba guilty of high treason.
The accused journalist, who also spoke in court before the ruling was handed down, reiterated his beliefs that it is a fratricidal war that is ongoing in Donbas, although he pleaded not guilty of high treason and impeding the activities of the armed forces.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the court arrested Kotsaba February 8, 2015. He was charged with high treason and premeditated acts aimed at impeding the legitimate activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The man had published in a social network a video titled ”I am against military draft” in which he called for ”the adequate people” to ignore mobilization.
On May 12, Ivano-Frankivsk city court sentenced Kotsaba to a 3.5-year imprisonment.
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