Court authorizes to detain Yanukovich in the case of the abduction of Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko)

The Pechersk District Court of Kiev authorized to detain the fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych, the former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko and the head of the State Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kiev Valeriy Koriak in the case of the abduction of Archbishop Alexander Drabinko – PA of the UOC Primate Vladimir Sabodan. This is said in the rulings of the Pechersk District Court of Kiev dated January 3, 2017, promulgated in the Unified State Register of judgments, reports UNIAN.

According to the documents, the Office for the investigation of crimes committed by criminal organizations, the General Prosecutor's Office carried out a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings of 21.05.2014 on the grounds of criminal offences under Part 2 Art.146 and Part 2 Art.365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of abuse of authority by three former high-ranking officials, as well as two other persons during illegal detention of the personal assistant of the late Primate of the UOC-MP Vladimir. According to the definitions, the decisions were taken to bring before the court the three former officials to participate in the consideration of applications for the use of preventive measures in the form of detention.

As reported by the UOJ, on December 8, 2016, the Verkhovna Rada withdrew immunity from the MP from the Opposition Bloc Vadim Novinskiy because of Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) case. The charges against Vadim Novinskiy are mainly based on the testimony of Metropolitan Alexander, who said that he was unlawfully deprived of freedom of movement in the winter of 2014. In their turn, the former Minister of the MIA of Ukraine Vitaliy Zakharchenko and former deputy prosecutor of Kiev Maxim Lenko called a lie Drabinko’s statement that he had been unlawfully deprived of liberty, being locked in. According to Lenko, Metropolitan Alexander himself asked him to provide protection for fear of revenge on the part of the organizer of the abduction of nuns Sergei But, a businessman who was a friend of Metropolitan Alexander and asked him to help clarify some of the information from the nuns. He moved freely through the city, and in February 2014, according to his statement, the security was removed.

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