Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are not currently considering Movement of New Forces party leader Mikheil Saakashvili’s extradition or deportation but are planning to question him first, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said.
“The matter is not about [Saakashvili’s] deportation or extradition, the matter currently concerns the questioning of a person suspected of committing an especially serious crime, and there is going to be liability. Only a court can find a person guilty of something. Saakashvili is currently halfway toward suspect status,” Lutsenko said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Dec. 5.
“Any Ukrainian politician who establishes contacts with [former President Viktor] Yanukovych and his entourage in seeking to attain their own political objectives, in order to use the money stolen in Ukraine to seize power, ceases to be a politician. He assumes suspect status in a criminal case,” Lutsenko said.
“By maintaining contacts with the criminal organization led by Yanukovych, who obviously financed his political activities in Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili has crossed the line as a politician. No allowances can be made for Saakashvili in this situation and given these activities,” Lutsenko said.
