Shufrich Returns to Defending Freedom of Speech
People's Deputy Nestor Shufrich, who is currently under round-the-clock house arrest in connection with a treason case, will participate in an online meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech. The meeting will take place remotely with the participation of parliamentarians who are members of the relevant committee.
“Nestor Shufrich will join us tomorrow for the meeting. Though, remotely. According to information received by the Secretariat of the Committee on Freedom of Speech, Shufrich plans to join online because he is currently under house arrest,” he said.
Yurchyshyn explained that the deputy has this right, as he is a sitting member of the Ukrainian Parliament and a member of the Committee on Freedom of Speech.
“At the same time, he has been notified of suspicion of high treason (Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). At the same time, in accordance with the presumption of innocence, only a court can find a person guilty, and a conviction must become final,” the committee chair explained.
He emphasized that as of today, Shufrich has not been stripped of his mandate as a People’s Deputy of Ukraine and may exercise his powers in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of People’s Deputies of Ukraine.”
“According to the law, the Committee cannot prevent a People’s Deputy from participating in a meeting. Moreover, the law obliges the elected representative to participate in the committee’s work, and the committee to ensure his participation,” Yurchyshyn added.
This was reported by Committee Chairman Yaroslav Yurchyshyn on Facebook.
The court released Nestor Shufrich from pretrial detention.
Earlier, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv ruled to keep Nestor Shufrich, a member of parliament from the banned OPZZh party, in custody for another 60 days, through May 9.
Shufrich was “tormented” in his detention cell by the “United Telethon.”
As a reminder, Shufrich submitted a bill from prison that would allow courts to suspend presidential decrees on sanctions.
