The authorities of Ukraine are indignant and vexed by the decision of Interpol to remove from the search of former President Viktor Yanukovych. The General Prosecutor's Office (GPU) intends to challenge the decision of the international organization and initiate amendments to the legislation in order to bring the policy to justice.
Head of the Department of Special Investigations GPU Sergei Gorbatyuk said that Yanukovych left the Ukrainian justice, not because of shortcomings of the investigation or violations committed by law enforcers. "The adoption of such a decision is motivated by the existing shortcomings of the Ukrainian legislation on the choice of preventive measures against the wanted persons and the status of the suspect," he said. The Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yevgeny Enin explained what exactly is the imperfection of the Ukrainian criminal procedural legislation.
"The decision of the courts to detain in order to be brought to court to participate in the consideration of an application for a preventive measure in the form of detention is not considered a decision on the detention of a suspect / accused in custody. In accordance with the rules of Interpol, a person for whom a measure of restraint in the form of detention has not been elected can not be declared an international wanted list, "wrote the deputy prosecutor at Facebook.
Enin complained that certain regional courts in Kiev refuse to make a decision to detain a suspect without his participation. Because of this, Yanukovych was not arrested in absentia, which allowed him to get rid of the unpleasant status of the person involved in the international search. For the same reason, the search for the former head of the presidential administration, Andrei Klyuev, was stopped, which is suspected in Kiev of illegally preventing the holding of rallies on the Maidan with the use of physical violence, as well as in organizing abuse of authority by law enforcement officials.
The Prosecutor General's Office decided to introduce a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that eliminates an annoying omission. After this, Yanukovych and his circle will once again be declared an international wanted man.
According to Yevgeny Enin, the termination of the international search for Yanukovych will not prevent the trial of the former president, which started today in the Obolonsky District Court of Kiev. Against the ex-head of state charged with high treason.
As prosecutor Viktor Kravchenko said at the briefing, the prosecution will demand life imprisonment for Yanukovych. "The highest degree of punishment is a life imprisonment. The prosecution party, in connection with the fact that the accused and suspect Yanukovych did not admit his guilt during the pre-trial investigation, the prosecution will only apply for the highest penalty, "the prosecutor's office representative said (quoted by RIA Novosti).
Attorney General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko said that the process will be conducted not only on "citizen Yanukovich," but also on his Kremlin masters who used as a fig leaf a document signed by Yanukovich to occupy the Ukrainian Crimea, pour blood on the Ukrainian Donbass, State ".
"I believe that the future court decision is very important not only from the point of view of higher justice, but also as a warning sign to all those who in the future will dare to take the path of high treason," Lutsenko said..
The Prosecutor General guaranteed Yanukovich the preservation of all the rights of the defendant, provided for by law.
At the same time, former president's lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk said "colossal pressure" on the court by the Ukrainian authorities. "There is a PR attack on the community, a PR attack on the court with the aim of forming an opinion on the need to make an exceptionally negative defense for the defense," the defender told journalists.
Viktor Yanukovych, who is on the territory of the Russian Federation, participates in a trial in the videoconference mode. Earlier, he repeatedly said that he was ready to give all the evidence of interest to the Ukrainian Themis.