The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) handed a document notifying Serhiy Vlasenko, a defender of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, of the closure of a criminal case against him to his representative on Monday morning.
“Vlasenko’s representative came on Monday and received the
notification of the closure of the criminal case on an appeal of
[Vlasenko’s] ex-wife [Natalia] Okunska,” the PGO’s press service told an
Interfax-Ukraine reporter.
The press service noted that the PGO’s Main Investigatory Department
asked Vlasenko to come at 1000, but he never came and later on his
representative came instead of him.
On March 5, 2013, the PGO reported that the criminal case on
non-fulfillment of a court ruling against Serhiy Vlasenko had been
closed.
“The criminal proceeding on [Vlasenko’s ex-wife Natalia] Okunska’s
statement on the non-fulfillment of a court ruling by Vlasenko has been
closed due to the absence of evidence of crime. In connection with this,
Vlasenko is summoned to the PGO’s Main Department for Investigation of
Priority Cases to read the decision,” the press service said.
Earlier on March 5, Vlasenko told journalists that that PGO had summoned him for interrogation as a witness on March 11.
“On March 4 they sent me summon to the PGO for March 11 for an
interrogation as a witness on another absurd criminal case,” he said.
In January 2013 Vlasenko stated that he could be detained in the near
future. He said that the reason for his detention could be alleged
non-fulfillment of court rulings in a civil case by him, as well as his
alleged actions classified as assault with intent to rob.
He said that a ruling of Kyiv Pechersky District Court accuses him of
non-fulfillment of a court ruling in court disputes between him and his
ex-wife Okunska.
Vlasenko also stated that experts of Kyiv Forensic Medicine Bureau tried to falsify evidence in a criminal case against him.
“I mean alleged physical damage allegedly caused by me… Now they are
falsifying [a case on] injuries of moderate severity under articles of
the Criminal Code,” he said.
In late January 2013 First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin
said that the PGO was checking statements by Okunska about an alleged
beating of her by her ex-husband.
Kuzmin said that Vlasenko’s ex-wife had filed several appeals saying
that he used physical force against her in the presence of their
children and other people.
On March 6, the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine ruled to annul Vlasenko’s parliamentary mandate.
