Kyiv Prosecutor's Office has finished its inquiry into a fight between lawmakers that took place in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada on December 16 and has opened a criminal case under part 2 of Article 344 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
"Based on the materials from pre-investigation checks conducted by interior affairs agencies into the December 16 events in the Verkhovna Rada session hall, Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 344 – interference in a statesman’s work," the PGO’s press service reported.
On December 15, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported that a criminal case had been opened against opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko over the misuse of funds allocated under the Kyoto Protocol and that she had been banned from travelling outside Kyiv.
On December 16, members of the BYT-Batkivschyna faction blocked the parliament’s rostrum and demanded that Tymoshenko’s political persecution be stopped. In the evening, scores of deputies from the pro-presidential Regions Party stormed the presidium and, after a fight in which punches and chairs were thrown, opposition deputies were forced out of the parliament hall. Some opposition lawmakers were injured in the scuffle.
