Hromadske published a retraction of its accusations against Ukrainian lawyer Portnov

The website of the online TV channel Hromadske complied with a court decision and published a retraction regarding the Ukrainian lawyer Andriy Portnov.

The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv ruled that the information spread by some Ukrainian media, including Hromadske, about Portnov’s alleged involvement in the arson of the car belonging to the driver of the program Schemes: Corruption in Details was inaccurate. In 2020, the publication released a statement from the program’s leader, Natalia Sedletska, on *Radio Svoboda*, claiming that Portnov might have been involved in the arson of their editorial car. According to the court’s decision, this information is not only false but also violates Portnov’s personal non-property rights.

The message on the website states that Hromadske disagrees with the court’s decision but is complying with it.

It should be noted that in early November, NV also published a retraction regarding Portnov.

In September, the Appeal Court upheld the rulings in favor of Portnov in lawsuits against several media outlets and the host of Schemes. As Portnov’s lawyer noted, this lawsuit was examined for four years “due to the coordinated delays in hearings by one of the defendants.”