Poroshenko's Preventive Measure to Be Chosen on Day of Return. SBI Accuses Ex-President of Failing to Appear in Court

Lawyers said no summons to court was ever issued.

Former Ukrainian president and leader of European Solidarity Petro Poroshenko, who has been served a notice of suspicion of high treason, will return to Ukraine on January 17 on a flight from Warsaw. 

Petro Poroshenko
former President of Ukraine

I advise Bankova not to waste money on illegal external surveillance and wiretapping. We will inform you of every step that brings me closer to home. I also advise the authorities not to try to scare me with an arrest right at the airport. I am returning on January 17 at 9 a.m. 

To remind, the leader of European Solidarity was served a notice of suspicion of high treason and aiding terrorists. He was summoned for questioning on December 23. Poroshenko, who is currently abroad, said he would return to Ukraine only in the first half of January. 

The Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) has approved a motion to choose a preventive measure in the form of arrest with the possibility of posting bail of UAH 1 billion. On January 6, it became known that the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv had arrested Poroshenko's property. 

Lawyers' demand

Lawyers for Petro Poroshenko demanded that the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv schedule a hearing in the case of the fifth President of Ukraine for January 17, so that he could come to court voluntarily. 

Ihor Holovan
lawyer for Petro Poroshenko

Now everyone knows that Petro Poroshenko is arriving in Ukraine on the 17th at 9 a.m. We know that the Office of the Prosecutor General is somehow concealing this information, and the Pechersk court is concealing it too, and that there is a decision to detain Petro Poroshenko for the purpose of bringing him to court, and there is a motion from the Office of the Prosecutor General to apply a preventive measure to Petro Poroshenko. Today we applied to the Pechersk court with a motion that, according to the Criminal Procedure Code, a people's deputy must be notified in advance about the consideration of such motions. Therefore we demand scheduling a court hearing for January 17, 2022, so that Petro Poroshenko can, upon arrival in Ukraine, come to court and take part in the court hearing (regarding the preventive measure — ed.).

According to him, there are no grounds under the law for forcibly bringing the ex-president to court or detaining him, since he was traveling outside Ukraine and is ready to voluntarily appear in court immediately upon arrival. 

Holovan noted that Poroshenko is not only ready but also demands that the investigating judge schedule a pre-trial hearing and give him the opportunity to take part in it. 

Lawyer Ilya Novikov said that after the lifting of the deputy's immunity, there remains a guarantee that a preventive measure cannot be imposed in secret. According to him, a "Poroshenko in shackles show" is being planned at Zhuliany. 

Novikov called for giving a chance to a civilized discussion in the courtroom. 

When the preventive measure will be chosen

Pre-trial investigation bodies expect to carry out all necessary procedural actions, including choosing a preventive measure, on the day Poroshenko returns to Ukraine on January 17. 

"According to media reports, the fifth President of Ukraine plans to return to Ukraine on January 17, 2022. Therefore, pre-trial investigation bodies expect to carry out all necessary procedural actions on the day of his return, including choosing a preventive measure. Evasion by the fifth President of Ukraine of fulfilling the procedural obligations of a suspect and of appearing in court may be regarded as one of the risks, which gives the investigating judge grounds to rule on applying the strictest preventive measure," the SBI said. 

SBI accusations

The SBI said that Poroshenko evaded appearing in court, so the strictest preventive measure may be chosen for him. Poroshenko's lawyer notes that no summons to court was issued. 

Ihor Holovan
lawyer for Petro Poroshenko

Poroshenko, it turns out, evaded appearing in court. Who summoned Petro Poroshenko to court and when, the pathetic liars from the SBI do not say. Because no one summoned him. On the contrary, they are still concealing the text of the detention decision.