The High Anti-Corruption Court was scheduled today to begin the preparatory hearing in the case against Member of Parliament Mykola Zadorozhnyi and his accomplices. However, Zadorozhnyi did not appear, citing alleged participation in a plenary sitting of the Verkhovna Rada.

The court noted that under parliamentary rules, attendance at a court hearing constitutes a valid reason for an MP’s absence from a plenary session.

The prosecutor additionally pointed out that the parliamentary sitting had concluded long before the hearing began, meaning the MP had ample opportunity to attend.

The court found Zadorozhnyi’s reasons for absence unjustified.

As reported earlier, the SAPO accuses Zadorozhnyi of soliciting a bribe from a village council head in Sumy Region, together with his accomplices — National Police officers Oleh Tkachenko and Viacheslav Miroshnyk — and of organizing the transfer of the bribe.