Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine (PGO) has quit the pretrial investigation in the criminal proceedings opened against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and other former senior officials because these individuals are currently being searched for, MP Olena Sotnyk from Samopomich faction said.
According to her, the same applies to former parliament deputies Oleksiy Azarov (the son of former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov), former Justice Minister Olena Lukash, former Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Eduard Stavytsky, former head of Presidential Administration Andriy Kliuyev, former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko.
“The PGO stopped their pretrial investigation in criminal proceedings with respect to Viktor Yanukovych, Mykola Azarov, Olena Lukash, Eduard Stavytsky, Andriy Kliuyev, Viktor Pshonka, Vitaliy Zakharchenko and many others no less “worthy” persons. The PGO justifies this by saying that these persons are being searched for,” Sotnyk said on her Facebook page on Thursday.
The MP said that the trial in absentia, which does not require the presence of the suspects, is envisaged for such cases when the suspect flees from the prosecution.
“In fact, this situation means that the PGO is authorized to continue the investigation only after it “finds” Yanukovych, Azarov, Pshonka and the others.
“The criminal authority” can peacefully sleep,” Sotnyk said.
Sotnyk also spoke about Opposition Bloc MP Vadym Novinsky. “Sabotage on the stripping Novinsky of parliamentary immunity from prosecution sends the signal that no one intends to punish “criminal authorities,” Sotnyk said.
As reported, on November 17, the procedural committee of the Verkhovna Rada postponed the decision of the Prosecutor General’s motion to strip Novinsky of the parliamentary immunity, arguing that the PGO and the head of this department, Yuriy Lutsenko, who participated in the meeting, did not respond to all the questions raised by parliamentarians. In this regard, the committee requested the PGO to provide additional materials as soon as possible, and then the decision will be made.
After the committee meeting Lutsenko said, “They demand from the PGO the things that the PGO has no right to do, as the Criminal Procedure Code forbids me to reveal the secret of pretrial investigation.”
He said he expects the representatives of the committee to provide the list of documents they wish to receive from the PGO. Lutsenko said he will act in accordance with the law.
