Ukrainian Member of Parliament Nadiia Savchenko, who has been arrested on charges of plotting a coup, has sued the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.
She appeals to parliament, demanding to recognize the decision to grant consent to bring her to criminal liability, detention and arrest as unlawful.
Her lawyer Constantine Globa has filed an administrative lawsuit in the Court of Cassation under the Supreme Court "on recognizing unlawful inaction of the subject of power and recognizing unlawful and abolishing decisions," as reported on the website of the political party "The community-political platform of Nadiia Savchenko."
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"The respondent is the Verkhovna Rada. Nadiia is challenging the decision to prosecute and arrest her, which was shamefully and unlawfully voted by the parliament. It's worth mentioning that the case of Nadiia Savchenko is politically motivated and the arrest of an MP is not legal," it says.
As UNIAN reported, the Verkhovna Rada on March 22 green-lighted the arrest of MP Nadiia Savchenko, a former Ukrainian pilot released from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner-of-war exchange. Ukraine's prosecutors charged Savchenko with plotting a coup and an act of terror in Ukraine, following an elaborate sting operation by SBU Security Service agents, who initially targeted former hostage swap negotiator Volodymyr Ruban.
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The latter is believed to have conspired with Savchenko. Savchenko is suspected of committing crimes under Part 1 of Article 109 (actions aimed at the forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power); Part 1 of Article 14 (preparations for a crime), Part 2 of Article 28 (committing a crime by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior agreement, an organized group or a criminal organization), Article 112 (an attempted attack on the life of a public figure), Part 3 of Article 258 (an act of terror); Part 1 of Article 258-3 (creation of a terrorist group or organization) and Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal possession of weapons, ammunition or explosives) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
On March 23, Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky district court ruled that Savchenko be remanded in custody for 59 days without bail.
She announced in the courtroom she would go on hunger strike, denying plans to flee Ukraine.
On March 29, Kyiv's Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the first instance court to keep Savchenko behind bars for a period of 59 days until May 20. On May 15, the arrest was extended until July 13. Ruban will remain in custody until July 2.
