Court changes restraint measure for ex-leader of pro-Yanukovych party Yefremov from custody to house arrest
The Kyiv Court of Appeal, at the request of the defense, has changed the measure of restraint to former head of the Party of Regions faction in the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Yefremov, from detention to 24-hour house arrest, said his lawyer Andriy Smirnov.
"The Kyiv Court of Appeal has satisfied our motion and applied a restraint measure of house arrest against Oleksandr Yefremov," wrote Smirnov on his Facebook page on Monday.
"After three years of automatic, illegal and, most importantly, unsubstantiated detention, Oleksandr Yefremov goes home," added the lawyer.
In turn, spokesperson for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Larysa Sarhan, confirmed the change of the preventive measure to Oleksandr Yefremov, adding that the court changed the preventive measure to 24-hour house arrest.
"Traditional gratitude to the Constitutional Court for taking care of high traitors and terrorists," she added.
As reported, Yefremov on July 30, 2016 was detained on suspicion of threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty in an airport in Kyiv. He is also charged with supporting the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic and the illegal acquisition of property belonging to Luhanskvuhillia.
The Starobilsk District Court of Luhansk region is currently hearing the case on charges of Yefremov in complicity with terrorists, encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and high treason.
Yefremov is suspected of organizing the seizure of the building of Luhansk Regional State, supporting a foreign organization to conduct disruptive activities against Ukraine and supporting and establishing a terrorist organization - the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic."