The questioning of fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) in Kyiv on Feb. 28 did not help to make progress in the case, in which Poroshenko is a witness, and his right to defense was violated during it, Poroshenko’s defense lawyer Illia Novikov has said.
“In general, the situation has not changed. Nothing sensational happened, I suppose,” Novikov told reporters following Poroshenko’s interrogation on Feb. 28.
The lawyer also said that Poroshenko’s right to defense was artificially restricted by summons to questioning as a witness on the cases in which he is the applicant.
“A witness does not enjoy the majority of the rights we were supposed to have if they considered us the defense team,” he said.
Novikov also said that Poroshenko has filed a lawsuit against the investigator of the SBI, who ordered his compulsory attendance for questioning, although the defendant never appeared and went on vacation.
