According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, the former MP, one of the leaders of the now disbanded Party of Regions Olexandr Yefremov is detained. He now faces charges of breaching Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
During his long political career, Yefremov served as governor of Luhansk region and Ukrainian MP of three convocations (2005, 2006 and 2012). He was deputy leader of Viktor Yanukovych, the-then head of the pro-Russian party. In January 2014, he voted for the so-called draconian laws that severely limited rights of citizens for freedom of speech and assembly, and foresaw criminal responsibility for anti-government manifestations.
Yefremov stepped down the political scene when the new Parliament was elected, and Party of Regions was disbanded – as the political force that disgraced itself by encouraging aggression during the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine in late 2013-early 2014.
