During a briefing in Lviv, Petro Poroshenko’s lawyer Ilya Novikov announced that lawsuits will be filed against the officials involved in the disruption of the fifth President’s trip to the USA and Poland.
As you know, this morning the border guards did not allow Petro Poroshenko to leave on a business trip, which was officially approved by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Stefanchuk. As it turned out, Stefanchuk’s order was illegally canceled by his deputy Kornienko on the basis of his own letter.
Petro Poroshenko had planned meetings in Washington with congressmen and senators, in particular, with the new speaker of the House of Representatives, Johnson, as well as with representatives of the Pentagon, he was supposed to speak at a special event on Ukraine during the Forum of the International Democratic Union. In Poland, Poroshenko had scheduled meetings with the newly elected heads of committees of the Sejm. Also, Petro Poroshenko was planning to issue transit licenses for military equipment purchased with his money in Great Britain, Belgium and other NATO countries.
“This is arbitrariness. A lot of damage has been done. Even if there were not all these planned meetings, the very fact that during the war, during the negotiation process, when a lot of attention is drawn to how democratic, in particular, parliamentary procedures operate in Ukraine, the fact of such a scandal already causes a lot of damage.” Novikov emphasizes.
“This situation was legally created recently. And the arbitrariness that happened at the border, which was a consequence of the arbitrariness in the apparatus, in the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada, it became possible primarily because there is a system that illegally, contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine, provides for the procedure for issuing permits. There was a situation with the crossing of the border by a person who was traveling on state matters. This is copying the approaches that are widespread in Russia. It is obvious that systematic steps and measures were taken in more than one direction so that not only Petro Poroshenko personally as a deputy, but his entire working group, which was supposed to provide and work at these meetings, could not even get to Poland, nor to the United States of America,” Novikov is convinced.
“I consider that this whole story should be investigated in the order of criminal proceedings, as I personally believe that there is a composition of criminal offenses and more than one. That is, for certain reasons, obviously intentionally, Kornienko made a blatantly illegal decision, knowing that the order is not canceled in accordance with legal principles, knowing that the Rules of Procedure do not give the head of the Verkhovna Rada the right to cancel his own orders, knowing about the existing court decisions, judicial practice about the fact that the orders are not canceled, nevertheless he decides in this way to disrupt the departure of People’s Deputy Petro Poroshenko on a business trip to the USA”, – added lawyer Ihor Golovan.
“We will respond to this by filing lawsuits, criminal charges against all officials who participated at all stages in this situation,” sums up Ilya Novikov.