The Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Union sees the upcoming judicial review of the question of the annulment of Yuriy Odarchenko's parliamentary mandate as a provocation aimed at disrupting the work of the Verkhovna Rada.

"The judicial attack on Yuriy Odarchenko is another overt attempt to destroy the parliamentary system in Ukraine and a provocation by the authorities aimed at disrupting and blocking the work of the Verkhovna Rada. The regime of [President Viktor] Yanukovych wants to destroy this parliament, because, thanks to the active resistance of the opposition, it remains the only counterweight to the current unchecked presidential power," Batkivschyna said in a statement on Monday.

In addition, the party believes that the pressure on Odarchenko is directly related to his criticism of the Kyiv authorities and his active struggle for the holding of elections for Kyiv mayor and for Kyiv City Council deputies.

"An appeal against Odarchenko, one of the most experienced organizers of protests, deliberately appeared ahead of the last Rise Up, Ukraine! rally, which is scheduled for May 18. It's already clear to all that the Party of Regions does not have a majority in the Verkhovna Rada and cannot make the necessary decisions without using bribery and intimidation of deputies in order to attract more votes. This is why the government is trying by all means to knock the most active opposition deputies out of parliament," reads the statement.

In this regard, the party demanded that the pressure on Odarchenko be immediately stopped.

As reported, Odarchenko said on April 13 that on April 17, Kyiv's District Administrative Court would consider a case to strip him of his mandate. He said that the case was based on a complaint lodged by citizen Horbatov that Odarchenko was registered an MP in violation of the law, since he was a member of a limited liability company at the time of registration. As a proof to the complaint Horbatov attached a protocol of a general meeting of Donetsk-Aqua Ltd. regarding Odarchenko's election as a board member.

"So, he's trying to prove that I broke the law at the time of registration and was a member of a business structure," Odarchenko said.

"I want to clearly state is that I'm not a board member of any limited liability company. I don't know anything at all a business structure called Donetsk-Aqua," he said.