Kyiv Court of Appeals has postponed consideration of the appeal of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine on the verdict passed against Ukraine's former Acting Defense Minister Valeriy Ivaschenko because he is not in Ukraine.
As a correspondent of Interfax-Ukraine reported, the next court sitting is to be held at 09.30 on November 21.
Commenting the court examination, the lawyer of Ivaschenko, Borys Nechyporenko, said that his defendant, even if he wanted to, still has no right to return to his homeland, as he is prohibited from entering Ukraine after obtaining political asylum.
Besides, lawyer of the ex-acting defense minister described as absurd those court’s recommendations that Ivaschenko should attest his refusal to be present during the consideration of the appeal. He could do this only at the diplomatic establishment of Ukraine in Denmark, the country where he is staying now, but this diplomatic establishment is also considered to be the territory of Ukraine and he is prohibited from entering there as well, Nechyporenko said.
“That’s why Ivaschenko won’t attend the next sitting, and it is the court of appeals that should decide how to settle this situation,” the lawyer said.
As reported, on April 12, 2012, Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court sentenced Ivaschenko to five years in prison, banning him at the same time from occupying government and administrative positions for three years. Ivaschenko’s pretrial detention since August 21, 2010 has counted as the prison term set by the court, according to Article 82 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The Kyiv Appeals Court replaced Ivaschenko’s conviction by a suspended sentence and granted him a one-year probation period on August 14, 2012. The Ukrainian Higher Specialized Court later upheld the five-year suspended sentence given to Ivaschenko.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported on February 19, 2013, that Ivaschenko was granted a residence permit rather than political asylum in Denmark.
