Ukraine court refuses to arrest ex-President Poroshenko
January 19, 2022
A Ukrainian court on Wednesday refused a prosecutor's request to arrest former President Petro Poroshenko on charges of treason.
Poroshenko returned to the country on Monday to face the charges, which he has called fabrications invented by allies of the current president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He appeared in court on Wednesday, but judge Oleksiy Sokolov rejected the request for the arrest, saying instead that Poroshenko should appear before prosecutors and investigators when asked to do so.
There had been scuffles outside the court between police and Poroshenko supporters.
The judge, however, ordered the confiscation of Poroshenko's passport and ordered the 56-year-old to report to the court to keep his freedom. The decision is valid for two months, but can be extended.
"The confiscation of my passport will hinder my political activities," Poroshenko said. But the former president and his lawyers began to sing the national anthem on hearing that he would not be detained.
What are the charges against Poroshenko?
Prosecutors charge that, during Poroshenko's time in the presidency, which he held between 2014 and 2019, he was involved in the sale of large amounts of coal that helped fund Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
He has rejected the charges. But a court froze his assets on January 7 as part of its investigation. The confectionary tycoon is one of Ukraine's richest citizens.
Poroshenko has claimed that his political rival Zelenskyy, who won a landslide victory over the previous president in 2019, is behind the charges.
Zelenskyy's administration has tried to distance itself from the investigation. The current president ran on a campaign on tackling corruption and taking on the influence of the country's oligarchs.
ab/rc (AFP, Reuters)