KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2020) A court in Odessa has lifted an arrest from the Russian vessel that had been detained to secure compensation for the alleged illegal mining worth $5.2 million, a ruling that the prosecutor's office intends to appeal, Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine said Thursday.
"The prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has launched a criminal investigation over the fact that a judge made an a priori unjust decision. According to the prosecutor's office, on May 13, 2020, the judge of an Odessa district court decided to cancel the arrest of the vessel as part of the criminal case on the illegal extraction of sand in the protected areas of the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea," the statement said.
The judge may face up to eight years in prison.
The Prosecutor General's Office notes that the arrest was imposed by the same court on July 16, 2018 at the request of the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as a compensation for damages for the illegal extraction of natural resources, which allegedly amount to more than $5.2 million.
"An appropriate legal assessment will be given to the judge's actions," the statement said.
The name of the vessel is not disclosed in the prosecutor's office statement.
