Poroshenko Not Given Preventive Measure: Judge Has Been in Deliberation Room for Four Hours

Prosecutors demanded bail of 1 billion hryvnias.

During the court hearing on the choice of a preventive measure for Petro Poroshenko, the fifth president of Ukraine, who is suspected of treason, no decision has yet been made. The judge has been in the deliberation room for more than four hours.

We outline the main events of the lengthy hearing against the former president.

Suspect or not?

The lawyers insist that Poroshenko is not a suspect in this case, because the suspicion to a people's deputy must be announced by the Prosecutor General or, in his absence, by the first deputy. 

"The suspicion was signed under unclear circumstances by Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko. Thus, according to the lawyers, this suspicion is illegal, and the motion on the preventive measure should be returned to the prosecution," the deputy's defense said.

The State Bureau of Investigation says that the notification of suspicion was lawful.

The court spent a long time examining the legality of serving the suspicion on Poroshenko.

"These toilet papers should be returned to them. There is nothing in them." In this way, Poroshenko commented in court on the way investigators served the suspicion.

In court, there was lengthy debate over whether the suspicion was legally served on Petro Poroshenko.

The State Bureau of Investigation rejects all the lawyers' complaints and insists that everything was done in accordance with the law.

"The Prosecutor General may give instructions to other prosecutors to sign the notice of suspicion," prosecutors commented on who may sign the suspicion.

Prosecutors request arrest or bail of 1 billion

During his speech, the prosecutor asked the court to place Poroshenko in custody with the option of posting bail of one billion hryvnias.

Prosecutors justify the sum of 1 billion as follows: they took into account that the politician declared more than $50 million and 420 million hryvnias. Therefore, according to the prosecution, the suspect should be assigned bail higher than the maximum.

The State Bureau of Investigation published a scheme titled "Circumstances and details of the functioning of the criminal scheme of supplying coal from temporarily occupied territories during 2014-15 and assisting the terrorist organizations LPR and DPR by a group of citizens of Ukraine".

Petro Poroshenko's lawyer Ilya Novikov said in the courtroom that Poroshenko's suspicion was written "unclear, not clear what he is even accused of".

In his view, the cancellation of coal supplies from South Africa and the start of supplies from other enterprises are two facts that were already known from documents that had been lying in banks and the Cabinet of Ministers until now.

"You combine them and say that this was some kind of 'two-move combination', but there is not enough evidence. The conspiracy theory you put into the suspicion cannot and will not be proven," Novikov believes.

"Let's go, for God's sake!": Poroshenko explained his emotional escape from SBI investigators

Petro Poroshenko made an emotional speech in court.

He criticized President Zelensky's personnel policy, complained that "selective justice" had supposedly resumed in the country, and recalled his supporters, who are allegedly defending not him but "Ukraine".

"I am the fifth president of Ukraine, and infringing on the honor and dignity of the president is a criminal offense."

According to Poroshenko, the title of president remains "forever", therefore "every word" that was read to him in the suspicion "is a criminal offense".

In an interview with Ukrainska Pravda Poroshenko explained his emotional behavior when attempts were made to serve him a summons for questioning: he said he was not sure it was SBI investigators and not pranksters.

Petro Poroshenko
People's Deputy

No, I do not regret it at all, because that is a completely distorted position. Our driver had a very strange position, because we were actually late for a meeting. My assistant was supposed to get into another car, and this had been planned in advance. For some reason the driver froze, and we did not move for a minute and a half, and of course this was not meant for other ears. I can tell you that my assistant and security said that there were some pranksters and bloggers standing at the exit. And I did not know for sure that it was the SBI. They started shouting when we had de facto already begun to move. And I was not inclined to communicate with the customers of such cases.

US Reaction

The United States hopes for a fair court proceeding in Petro Poroshenko's case, said Senator Rob Portman (Republican, Ohio).

He arrived in Kyiv together with several other American senators, and their meeting with President Zelensky was scheduled for Monday.

Rob Portman
Senator from Ohio

All of us in America respect the rule of law, we want to be sure that in this situation everything will be considered honestly, that there will be a fair court proceeding.