Court removes MP mandate from Vlasenko, Tymoshenko attorney

A Kyiv court ruled on March 6 to remove a parliamentary mandate from Serhiy Vlasenko, the lead defense attorney for imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych influenced the court ruling, alleged afterwards Arseniy Yatsenyuk, head of the Fatherland party that supports Tymoshenko. The parliament’s speaker submitted the complaint alleging that Vlasenko was moonlighting as a defense attorney while serving as an MP, which violates Ukrainian law. Critics pointed out that dozens of MPs moonlight and Vlasenko was singled out because of his key role in Tymoshenko’s legal defense. That view is shared by top Western officials, who condemned the court decision. “Vlasenko was deprived of his deputy mandate disregarding appeals from the international community,” tweeted Jacek Protasiewicz, the vice president of the European Parliament. “I’m afraid that’s another step back from signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.”

Zenon Zawada: The March 6 verdict could become a turning point from which Ukraine-EU relations don’t recover. President Yanukovych, who is considered by international observers to be responsible for such court decisions, is overconfident in thinking that the EU will sign the Association Agreement by overlooking violations to the principle of equality before the law, which are growing more numerous rather than abating. With his deputy mandate gone, Vlasenko is no longer immune to criminal prosecution, which is entirely possible given current trends.