Ex-MP from banned pro-Russian party arrested in absentia for high treason
A Kyiv court on Tuesday ordered that Vadym Rabinovych, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament believed to be in Israel, be arrested on charges of high treason, the state bureau of investigation (DBR) said in a statement.
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The court approved DBR’s request to arrest Mr Rabinovych as a pre-trial measure, and the bureau has sent a request for international legal assistance to Israel, where the former MP is believed to be hiding.
Vadym Rabinovych was a co-chairman of Opposition Platform – For Life, the now-banned pro-Russian party, and left Ukraine on the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Last month, he was charged with high treason for disseminating anti-Ukrainian propaganda in the EU, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Last year, the Ukrainian president stripped the fugitive MP off Ukrainian citizenship, and his mandate was revoked.