13.02.2015
Today at about 11 o’clock, police officers in civilian clothes and in camouflage armed with automatic weapons forced open the doors of the office centres at the addresses Igorevskaya 7А and Igorevskaya 5\10, where, among others, office of Smart-Holding Company is located. Next, they went to the reception of Vadym Novynskyi, Member of the Parliament, and began the searching activities. Vadym Novynskyi informed them about the illegality of these actions, but the law-enforcement officers ignored his appeal in spite of the fact an agreement for lease of the office space was shown to them by the MP.
In addition, the employees of two office centres, where not only Smart-Holding Company is located, and other ordinary visitors were moved into the canteen where they were illegally held for two hours at rifle point. Only the intervention of other MPs and representatives of mass media put an end to these unlawful acts. The armed men left the premises and police officers in civilian clothes also left the place after they made the protocols. According to the police officers, they acted pursuant to the decision of Pecherskiy district court that allowed them to make the search at Igorevskaya 7A. However, the court decision did not contain any permission for search at Igorevskaya 5/10. Moreover, the law-enforcement officers did not have any right to search in the reception of the Member of the Parliament and to hold people at gunpoint. In their protocol, the law-enforcement officers explained the forced opening of the doors to the office centres as follows: “We were making searching activities in a gallant manner, but then a group of MPs arrived who kept us off our work and who broke off the doors and entered the office building through the roof (!!!)”. The meaning of the protocol is not presented literally, but is close to the original text. The picture captures the police officers blocking the representatives of mass media and not allowing them to enter the office.