The State Bureau of Investigation (GBR) sent to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine draft decisions on the suspicion and deprivation of parliamentary immunity of the former president of the country Petro Poroshenko. This was reported on the website of the department.
“The draft suspicion was prepared and sent to the prosecutor’s office as part of a pre-trial investigation of the criminal proceedings regarding the possible illegal influence on the competition for the selection of candidates for the appointment of members of the High Council of Justice in March-May 2019,” the report says.
The High Council of Justice is the body of the judicial branch of Ukraine, which is responsible for the formation of the judiciary. Interfering with his work, Poroshenko is believed to have violated Part 109 (3) of Article 109 (actions aimed at forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power) and Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The maximum punishment that the ex-president may face if his guilt is established is five years in prison.
Attorney General Ruslan Ryaboshapka said that two divisions of his department work with draft resolutions: the legal and the one that accompanies the work of the State Security Committee.
“I do not exclude that we and colleagues from the State Duma may need to correct something so that the presentation is truly substantiated, so that there are no comments on him in parliament,” he said.
According to the press service of the European Solidarity party, whose leader is Poroshenko, the suspicion is called the “Russian order”. It is alleged that Moscow’s goal is to discredit the fifth president of Ukraine and prevent him from participating in official international events. At the same time, two Ukrainian citizens who allegedly are behind this “order” are mentioned in the press service report - the former deputy head of the presidential administration of Ukraine of the time of Viktor Yanukovych, lawyer Andrei Portnov and the head of the Belarusian State Duma Roman Truba.
"Limit the influence of Poroshenko"
Supporters of the president recall that on November 15, the Verkhovna Rada adopted by a majority vote an amendment to bill No. 216, the new version of the current law “On the State Bureau of Investigation.” In accordance with it, the powers of the current head of the GDB should cease, since the functions of the department fundamentally change. It is expected that the bill will be finally adopted at the next meeting of the Verkhovna Rada on December 3. After it was signed by Vladimir Zelensky and published in the official publication of the Verkhovna Rada, the procedure for changing the director of the SRB will start. In accordance with the law, a special tender commission should nominate a new head of department.
“Clinging on to a chair that was quickly slipping away, the Director of the State Security Bureau, Roman Truba, threw the last trump card - a draft resolution on suspicion to the fifth president of Ukraine,” the European Solidarity press service writes.
- Members of the European Solidarity Party at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kiev, at which the budget for 2020 is adopted.
- RIA News
At the same time, the party emphasizes that “the rush of the Pipe and his mentor Portnov” is also explained by the unwillingness to execute the court decision. Igor Golovan, Poroshenko’s lawyer, demanded that the GDB consider the petition to close the pre-trial investigation against the ex-president under one of the articles that he is charged with - Part 3 of Art. 109. However, the request was never considered. The Shevchenko district court of Kiev decided on November 15 to satisfy the lawyer's complaint.
However, experts consider the version set forth by "European Solidarity" unconvincing. According to the Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bortnik, it is unlikely that suspicion against Poroshenko is the initiative of a single official. At the same time, Bortnik admitted that the acting head of state or people from his environment can build "intrigues" against Poroshenko.
“Firstly, Poroshenko continues to compete with Zelensky’s team for influence in law enforcement and judicial structures. Therefore, the head of state is profitable to “immobilize” him. Secondly, Poroshenko is the organizer of all kinds of protests with radical right-wing slogans against Zelensky. Perhaps, now there is an advancing game, the purpose of which is to limit the influence of the Ukrainian right on politics or the influence of Poroshenko on radicals, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, Ruslan Bortnik did not rule out that the ex-president could become a “victim of the order” from business competitors.
“This version is commonplace, but it has a right to exist. Poroshenko remains one of the key Ukrainian oligarchs. Now the situation in the economy is very difficult, including for other oligarchic groups, ”said Bortnik.
He also believes that the arrest of Poroshenko may be beneficial to Zelensky personally.
“The head of state is criticized for the fact that there are no landings, there are no real successes in the fight against corruption that society requires. Poroshenko’s arrest can be presented as such a success, ”the expert admitted.
- The Verkhovna Rada
- © Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters
"Goal Number One"
Meanwhile, the current legislation prevents to prosecute Poroshenko. In Ukraine, a law has already been passed on the deprivation of people's deputies of immunity from criminal prosecution, but it will enter into force only next year. Therefore, in order to conduct investigative actions against Poroshenko, he must first be deprived of parliamentary immunity, which should be supported by most deputies, political analysts recall. At the same time, there is no unity on this issue in parliament, RT sources say.
“The majority of the deputies of the Servant of the People party are still ready to issue such a permit. Poroshenko is the number one goal for the current government. The company has a request to hold representatives of the previous apparatus accountable, ”says a RT source in the Servant of the People party.
In turn, the interlocutor RT from the party "Fatherland" warns about the risks that may arise in this situation.
“I understand that the new government may want to put Poroshenko behind bars. But in this case, his supporters can arrange public protests, and the rating of the former president, on the contrary, will begin to grow. In Ukraine, they always support the humiliated, ”said the deputy.
As for Poroshenko himself, he considers all the accusations against him far-fetched, a RT source from the European Solidarity party claims.
“Now Kiev is playing along with the Kremlin, which is also interested in holding Poroshenko accountable. Their opinion, as well as the opinion of several oligarchs, led to the persecution of the former president. Poroshenko counts on the support of the EU and the USA, ”the deputy said.
An RT source in the Golos party claims Zelensky opens the Pandora’s Box.
“Five years of the presidency will pass quickly, and no one will guarantee that such criminal cases will not be opened against Zelensky. Ukrainian legislation is so complex and confusing that it is simply impossible to fully comply with it. This means that the current president is at risk, ”the deputy believes.
- Vladimir Zelensky
- globallookpress.com
- © Sergii Kharchenko / ZUMAPRESS.com
“Secret immunity”
The expert of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, Bogdan Bezpalko, believes it is unlikely that Poroshenko will go to jail anyway.
“Zelensky is well aware that there will be no real persecution of the ex-president. All the events since the presidential election clearly demonstrate that Poroshenko has unspoken immunity. Criminal cases are brought against him, suspicions are raised, but he is not isolated. There is a game, and this game will not end with anything, ”he said in a comment to RT.
According to Bezpalko, the prosecution of Poroshenko for their own purposes will be used by all the main players in the Ukrainian political field, including the ex-president himself.
“Most likely, Poroshenko will try to mobilize his electorate as much as possible. He will organize some street protests, and not in his defense, but, for example, against the Steinmeier formula, against the “betrayal” of Ukraine. He will try to present the criminal case against himself as politically motivated, ”Bezpalko believes.
Ruslan Bortnik believes that the West is unlikely to take any consolidated position on the issue of the prosecution of Poroshenko.
“Relatively speaking, hawks in the EU and the US will oppose the ex-president of Ukraine being touched. After all, this is fraught for them with a decrease in influence on Kiev. Many in the West are not interested in the arrest of the ex-president for economic reasons. Poroshenko and his team attracted a significant credit resource to Ukraine. And in some way he acts as a guarantor that this money will return. But, of course, in the West there are those circles that will understand Zelensky’s motives, ”says Bortnik.
Bogdan Bezpalko, on the contrary, believes that the West is unlikely to support the real, not ostentatious, persecution of the ex-president.
“If Poroshenko has any guarantees that he will escape the prison, then, of course, influential people from abroad also gave them to him. Consequently, there will be a lot of noise. But Poroshenko is unlikely to end up in custody, ”the expert concluded.