Leader of Regions Party faction in the parliament Oleksandr Yefremov has said that he can't vote for the bill submitted by MP Anzhelika Labunska on the treatment of the convicts abroad.

"Our opposition proposes us to support the bill of Labunska. Sane people won't support this bill," Yefremov told Interfax-Ukraine in Kyiv on Monday.

According to the bill, convicted persons may be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment if a year of uninterrupted medical treatment at a hospital located outside their penitentiary fails to heal them completely.

"But let's see – I could give an example: how many of those imprisoned for murders, for various grave crimes, do we have, those who are incurably ill, who have an incurable form of TB? What do we do?" Yefremov said.

Ukraine can't take a "completely rash approach to the law just because Europe told us," Yefremov said.

The faction leader said that if this law is approved, hundreds of prisoners will ask to "accept them in the out-patient department."

Asked by Interfax-Ukraine how this situation could be resolved to his opinion, he said: "I proposed that our dear colleagues from the opposition two weeks ago create a group. Are there any bills? Yes, there are. He also said that the working group could bring similar bills to a common denominator.

"Why did Yatseniuk withdraw his bill? There is nonsense there, but there are a number of things that could have been considered. Just because Tymoshenko [told him] to support Labunska's bill… We can't form a legislative policy in Ukraine under the pressure of circumstances," Yefremov said.

As expected, the parliamentary committee on legislative support for law enforcement at its sitting on November 4 will consider bills that propose to permit convicts to undergo treatment abroad.

As reported, on November 5, Verkhovna Rada will consider a bill from the leaders of three opposition factions - Arseniy Yatseniuk (Batkivschyna), Vitali Klitschko (UDAR) and Oleh Tiahnybok (Svoboda) prohibiting selective justice and paving the way for Ukraine's signing of an association agreement with the European Union (No. 3479); a bill from independent lawmaker Serhiy Mischenko, which allows convicted persons to receive medical treatment at a clinic abroad if convicts themselves or their relatives and friends pay for the clinic's services; and a bill from Anzhelika Labunska, according to which convicted persons may be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment if year-long uninterrupted medical treatment at a hospital located outside their penitentiary fails to heal them completely.

Besides, the opposition's bill contains the statements on individual release of Tymoshenko and cancellation of criminal record.

On October 31, the members of the European Parliament's observation mission - former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski and former European Parliament President Pat Cox – said that Labunska's bill on treatment of convicts is the optimum for reaching a consensus in the issue of treatment convicts abroad.

On November 1, leaders of Batkivschyna, Svoboda and UDAR factions said that they are ready to support the bill of Labunska.

On the same day Tymoshenko called the parliamentary opposition "without improvements and remarks, any discussions and disputes to immediately implement the proposals of Cox-Kwasniewski and to vote for the bill of Labunska."