KIEV, October 13. /TASS/. Chairman of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life party’s Political Council Viktor Medvedchuk said he was not satisfied by Tuesday’s court decision to place him under house arrest on new charges, but is yet undecided on whether he should appeal it.
"We are, of course, not satisfied by this decision," Medvdedchuk told the Pervy Nezavisimy TV channel, commenting on the ruling.
He described as "political repressions" the charges of state treason, brought against him due to his presumed role in deals to purchase coal in eastern Ukrainian areas outside the Kiev government’s control.
Earlier, Medvedchuk described those charges as unfounded and legally null. The politician says he is facing unlawful persecution and political repressions, initiated by the Kiev government.
A district court in Kiev turned down the prosecutor’s request to place Medvedchuk in custody on Tuesday, placing him under round-the-clock house arrest until December 7 instead.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said it would appeal the decision, too, because "the above-mentioned measure of pretrial restraint is insufficient and will not ensure [the defendant’s] proper conduct," prosecutors said in a statement.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said on October 8 that Medvedchuk was charged with state treason and assisting terrorist activities, because he was involved in supplies of coal from Donbass areas outside the Kiev governemnt’s control in late 2014 - early 2015, worth about $7.6 million.
In a separate development, Medvedchuk’s house and the office of his party were searched by police on May 11. Later, he was charged with high treason and "violation of laws and customs of war." He was placed under house arrest, and the measure has since been extended several times. Medvedchuk condemned the charges as politically motivated and ungrounded.