The lawyers for Dr. Odrex have filed a motion to recuse the prosecutor in the case

The preliminary hearing in the case against Vitaliy Rusakov, a doctor at the private Odrex clinic, who is accused of causing the death of Odessa businessman Adnan Kivan—which was scheduled for June 11—has been postponed due to the need to consider a number of motions filed by the parties.

As Vitaliy Rusakov’s attorney, Vitaliy Kolomiets, told an Intenta correspondent, he filed a motion with the court to recuse the prosecutor. 

The lawyer was outraged that the prosecutor had decided to request the reimposition of a pretrial restraint measure on his client—one whose term had already expired—and to make it more severe. Specifically, the prosecutor requested that Vitaliy Rusakov be placed under 24-hour house arrest, fitted with an electronic ankle monitor, and prohibited from working. 

In addition, the court appointed a new defense attorney for the other defendant—Dr. Maryna Bilotserkovska— because her attorney had broken her leg and could not attend the hearings.

"So we were forced to respond to these actions by the prosecutor and filed a motion to recuse him. First, due to his contradictory behavior, which is prohibited for both a defense attorney and a prosecutor. For some reason, the prosecutors decided to invent circumstances that they allegedly only recently became aware of, even though they knew that Vitaliy had been working at another company for at least six months. "Previously, they had requested an extension of the nighttime house arrest, and that had no effect, but here they saw that the terms were expiring and invented some other circumstances," the attorney noted.

The case was transferred from the Primorsky Court of Odessa to the Kyiv Court after Vitaliy Rusakov’s defense attorneys pointed out that one of the representatives of the victims in the case had worked at the Primorsky Court for a long time.

An Intenta correspondent in the courtroom asked four representatives of the prosecutor’s office present there for comment, but they declined to comment, stating that the correspondent should contact the press service. 

The second part of the hearing concerned Marina Bilotserkivska, who requested that her defense attorneys be allowed to participate in the hearing; the judges denied the request, so the attorneys filed a motion to recuse the judge.

A scandal erupted at the Odrex clinic following the death of local businessmanAdnan Kivan, who had been receiving treatment there from May to October 2024. Following his death, two doctors were notified thatthey were suspectedof professional misconduct. 

Odessa businessmanAdnan Kivandied on October 28, 2024, at the age of 61, as a result of a long-term battle with cancer. In Odessa, he was known as the owner of the KADORR Group, the Kyiv Post and Ukrainian Information Service publications, and Channel 7.  He was listed among the 100 richest Ukrainians and the five largest rentiers, with a fortune of $240 million according to Forbes. 

Representatives of the Odrex clinic reported systematic and disproportionate pressure from law enforcement agencies, involving officials from the Office of the Prosecutor General.  In this regard, the clinic publicly appealed to Ukraine’s Prosecutor GeneralRuslan Kravchenko, demanding that he take personal control of the situation.

Кирило Бойко