Kharkiv – The defense counsel of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Sehiy Vlasenko, has categorically denied the reports that he intends to seek political asylum in the Czech Republic.
“This is another lie. Why the Czech Republic, why not Honduras? This is just more nonsense,” Vlasenko told reporters on Tuesday, commenting on media reports that he intended to seek political asylum in the Czech Republic.
He suggested that these reports had the same goal as the recent resumption of criminal proceedings against him at a request of his former wife, Natalia Okunska.
The lawyer also made it clear that he didn’t care much about the resumption of criminal proceedings against him.
“In fact, nothing has happened. Starting from November of last year, at least three criminal cases were opened against me. This will be the fourth. And those are only the ones that I know of. When they stripped me of the [MP’s] mandate and there was a very high risk of being arrested and when they (I mean Viktor Yanukovych and the Ukrainian authorities) felt the immediate reaction of the European and world community, they gave up the idea of arresting me, because they were made to understand that they this will make impossible the signing of the Association Agreement. Then they publicly stated that the case had been closed. Now they have publicly reopened it. There will be not three but four cases against me. So what? I’m already used to it,” Vlasenko said.
Earlier, some media citing sources close to Vlasenko’s family reported that due to the resumption of criminal proceedings under Okunska’s application, Vlasenko will seek political asylum in the Czech Republic, and that he had even received formal consent.
The Czech Republic has already granted asylum to former economy minister of Ukraine Bohdan Danylyshyn and the ex-premier’s husband, Oleksandr Tymoshenko.
