KIEV, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian Justice Ministry has sent an inquest to the country’s Prosecutor General and National Security Council to investigate the activities of the Communist Party, which Kiev authorities are seeking to ban, Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said Monday.
“After receiving instructions from the acting president, the Ministry of Justice sent an according inquest to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the National Security Council in order to hold an investigation into possible facts of criminal activity from the Communist party’s leadership,” Petrenko said during a briefing.
“We are currently working closely together with law enforcement and are collecting evidence, and as soon as possible we will launch the according cases,” he added.
According to the minister, the case could liquidate the party if facts prove it has moved to change the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine.
Petrenko also did not rule out the possibility of opening criminal cases against the party’s leaders following the investigation into the party’s activities.
“While checking these facts, law enforcement bodies may begin criminal cases against concrete individuals, including the leaders of the political forces, and hold them responsible, including criminal responsibility,” Petrenko said.
Acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchynov earlier sent a letter to the country’s Justice Ministry, demanding a probe be opened into the Communist Party’s alleged separatist activities that could lead to a ban of the group.
The proposal came after Turchynov announced a decision to strip Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko of his right to address the country’s parliament.
Symonenko, who is also a presidential candidate, has been accused by Kiev of telling lies about events in Mariupol in Donetsk Region, where Ukrainian troops are conducting a special operation.
