Lawmaker on the run after Rada strips him of immunity

July03200922:25

Addressing journalists in Kirovohrad July 3, Premier Yulia Tymoshenko said she regrets having accepted in BYUT Viktor Lozynsky after his defection from the Party of Regions in 2007. Lozynsky has been accused of murder and is on the run.

To correct our mistake, Tymoshenko said, the BYUT faction initiated an emergency session of the legislature to strip Lozynsky of his immunity from prosecution as well as the immunity of other lawmakers. However, after Lozynsky’s immunity was lifted, the Party of Regions blocked the Rada work. It means that the PR lawmakers need their immunity. However, I am convinced that all must be equal before the law, she added.

Lozynsky, who did not show up in parliament today, is sought by prosecutors.

After Verkhovna Rada stripped Lozynsky of his immunity, we are on the look-out for the lawmaker, head of General Prosecutor’s Office department for investigating high-profile crimes Petro Koval told UNIAN.

The motion to strip Lozynsky of his immunity was backed by 415 lawmakers out of 444 who registered on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine chief Valentyn Nalyvajchenko told The Dzerkalo tyzhnya that by midday on Friday his service, SBU, had not received any instructions from the GPO to prevent Lozynsky from leaving Ukraine.

When the SBU received instructions from the GPO at 13:00 on Friday to locate and detain Viktor Lozynsky, we alerted our officers at border checkpoints, Nalyvajchenko confirmed.

SBU said they have no knowledge of Lozynsky leaving Ukraine.

Now the ex-lawmaker has been put on the wanted list by the GPO and SBU.