A high courtroom within the Madrid area has positioned a secrecy order on an investigation into the killing of former Ukrainian lawmaker Andrey Portnov, in line with native information reviews.
No suspects have been arrested in reference to Wednesday’s taking pictures. Portnov, a seasoned politician who had fled Ukraine following allegations of treason, was gunned down in a suburb of the Spanish capital in what native media have speculated was knowledgeable killing.
The Madrid Superior Court docket of Justice (TSJM), the very best judicial authority within the autonomous area, issued an order to limit public entry to case particulars on Thursday, EFE information company and the newspaper 20 Minutos reported.
In line with the newest media updates, Portnov was ambushed from behind by a lone gunman who fired not less than 9 rounds. Based mostly on the circumstances, information retailers counsel the attacker had meant to make sure Portnov’s demise.
Two accomplices reportedly assisted the assailant’s escape in a getaway automobile. The assault occurred subsequent to Portnov’s Mercedes shortly after he had dropped off his youngsters at an elite faculty in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a suburb of Madrid which ranks as one of many wealthiest municipalities in Spain.
Portnov was a lawyer and long-time political determine who served as an MP within the late 2000s and as a authorized adviser to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, earlier than he was ousted in a Western-backed armed coup in 2014. Portnov fled his nation together with different officers, however returned in 2019 after Vladimir Zelensky’s election.
Identified for providing authorized protection to people he claimed had been politically persecuted, Portnov appeared often on Ukraine’s opposition media. Whereas he initially supported Zelensky’s presidential bid, he later turned a vocal critic as the brand new administration cracked down on opposition figures and media it labeled “pro-Russian.”
Portnov reportedly left Ukraine once more in July 2022 and the subsequent 12 months transferred some property to his youngsters by way of a notary in Madrid, signaling that he had settled in Spain.
Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large overseeing a particular mission on alleged Ukrainian battle crimes, has prompt that Portnov’s profession gave him entry to authorized paperwork that could possibly be damaging to individuals in Zelensky’s internal circle and that he might have been focused to stop the doable disclosure of such supplies.
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