Political expert: Novinskiy – a bridge to attack the UOC

According to Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Politics Analysis and Management Ruslan Bortnik, scrapping the immunity of Opposition Bloc MP Vadim Novinskiy is just a handle to start persecutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He said about it in his comments to Ukraina.ru.

“Novinskiy is a bridge and an excuse to launch attacks against the UOC. He is accused of allegedly affecting the health of the deceased Metropolitan Vladimir, having restricted the freedom of His Beatitude’s closest aide Alexander Drabinko. If the case is to be proven to be the case, then there will arise a question of the legitimacy of the current UOC administration, which will create additional possibilities for the power to exercise pressure on these people,” emphasized the political expert.

“From the juridical point of view it’s not permission for arrest, not deprivation of the deputy’s mandate. But withdrawal of the immunity allows the Prosecutor General to file a suspicion to Mr. Novinskiy and move him to a new status – from being a witness to being a suspect, to make searches and conduct other inquiries,” he said.

According to Ruslan Bortnik, the case against Novinskiy is a bit too thin and sounds shaky: “My opinion is that the case will collapse in courts, yet it will be taken advantage of in order to impose pressure on the Church,” Mr. Bortnik thinks.

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko declared that MP Vadim Novinskiy had given phone instructions to former capital police chief Valeriy Koriak to detain Metropolitan Alexander (Illegitimately). In his turn, Novinskiy informed the Prosecutor General’s recommendation for a trial is fabricated and grounded on guesswork. Apart from that, access to the information about the MP’s calls was obtained in an unlawful way.

As it was earlier reported by the UOJ, on December 8th the Verkhovna Rada stripped Novinskiy of his parliamentary immunity