Runaway Melnyk calls investigator, promises to resurface when things calm down, says his lawyer
Former Rector of the National State Tax Service University of Ukraine Petro Melnyk, who escaped from house arrest, has called the investigator on the phone and promised to return, his defense lawyer, Oleksiy Nazarenko, said on TVi Channel on Friday.
"Before going on the air, I got on the phone with the investigator and he told me that Melnyk called him and said: 'When things calm down, I will reappear," the lawyer said.
"Therefore, I believe that he is alive at the moment. And the situation that has arisen is due to the fact that my client didn't feel well," he added.
In turn, the public relations department of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine said they did not have any information about Menyk's telephone call to the investigator.
As reported, on August 9, former rector of the National State Tax Service University of Ukraine Petro Melnyk escaped from house arrest, having removed his electronic tracking bracelets.
Melnyk was detained on July 27, 2013, on suspicion of having demanded from two Ukrainian citizens bribes of UAH 40,000 and UAH 80,000 to accept their relatives' entry to university.
Kyiv's Pechersky District Court on August 1, 2013, ruled to place Melnyk under house arrest on suspicion of bribery. Melnyk was not allowed to leave his apartment except in situations in which he might need medical examination or treatment. On August 7, tracking bracelets were put on the ex-rector.