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Interpol 'Reviewing' Rape Case Against Ukrainian Lawmaker


Interpol says it is looking into rape accusations against Mykola Knyazhytskiy, a Ukrainian lawmaker whose name was placed on its wanted list earlier this week.

The international police organization had issued a so-called red notice about Knyazhytskiy at the behest of Cambodian authorities, who accuse him of raping a minor in Phnom Penh on September 9, 2011.

Interpol told RFE/RL that the notice, which was taken down from its website on March 24, "has been removed until this review is completed."

Knyazhytskiy, a former chairman of the editorial boards of the Espreso TV and TVi television channels, denies the accusations.

His press service says he appeared in a live television show in Kyiv on the day of the alleged rape.

Knyazhytskiy has suggested that Konstantin Kagalovsky, a Russian businessman with whom he has clashed over the ownership of TVi, could be behind the accusations.

Ukrainian authorities say the request to place Knyazhytskiy on Interpol's wanted list emerged after high-ranking Cambodian officials visited Moscow.

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