On Thursday, May 4, began a trial in absentia over former President Viktor Yanukovych on charges of high treason.
Obolonsky District Court of Kiev held the first preparatory meeting on the case of encroachment by Viktor Yanukovych on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. For this, a penalty of 10 years to life imprisonment is provided.
At the first meeting, the court declared a break until May 18. Such a decision was made by the court after partial satisfaction of the motion of Yanukovych's defense to organize a videoconference with him.
One of the main evidence in the case is Yanukovych's appeal to the Russian authorities on March 1, 2014 on the introduction of troops into Ukraine.
The former president and his defense deny the accusations, and also call the correspondence process illegal.
On Wednesday, it became known that Interpol removed from the search for Viktor Yanukovych. The Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine believes that this is due to lack of legislation and the requirements of Interpol. They need a court decision on detention rather than delivery to the court to elect a preventive measure.
According to the prosecutor's office, the Interpol decision will not affect the process of Yanukovych.
State treason and "Yanukovych's letter" The case against the former president of Ukraine was transferred to the court on March 14, 2017.
The GPU says they have received irrefutable documentary evidence of high treason Yanukovych. One of these evidences, according to the Prosecutor's Office, is the appeal of the ex-president to the leader of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin with the request to introduce troops to the Ukrainian territory.
The Verkhovna Rada dismissed Yanukovych from his post on February 22, 2014, and soon he fled to Russia.
At that time, Russia did not recognize the new Ukrainian government, and Yanukovych was the president of Ukraine.
On March 4, 2014, at a meeting of the UN Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vladimir Churkin showed and read a letter from Yanukovych to the Russian president asking him to introduce troops.
At the same time, he noted that this appeal was received by the Russian president. Subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine received an official notification from the United Nations with a photocopy of a letter from Yanukovych.
On March 1, 2014, the Federation Council of Russia supported Vladimir Putin's request for permission to deploy troops to Ukraine.
At the same time, during the discussion of this decision, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation Alexander Klishas said that Viktor Yanukovych appealed to the upper house of the Russian parliament and supported the all-round assistance and protection of the inhabitants of the Crimea.
"This appeal is for us a sufficient reason to support the appeal of President Vladimir Putin, which came to us," Klishas.
However, already in 2017, in the administration of President Vladimir Putin and the Federation Council, they stated that they did not receive a letter from Viktor Yanukovych on the application of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine.
This official response was received by the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office from the Russian Federation in early March 2017.
Subsequently, on March 16, 2017, Russian President Dmitry Peskov also noted that the presidential administration did not receive an official letter from Yanukovych.
He also could not explain the fact that Churkin was showing a letter at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
Churkin died in the US on February 20, 2017.
On March 4, 2014, the presence of the appeal from Yanukovych was announced by Vladimir Putin himself.
Viktor Yanukovich at a press conference in Rostov-on-Don in November 2016 also confirmed the fact of the appeal to Vladimir Putin about the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine and called him an emotional decision.
"This document was, it was an emotional decision, how to influence the offensive of illegal military formations, to violence in the Donbass," Yanukovych said..
Correspondence condemnation The trial of Viktor Yanukovych became possible due to the introduction in Ukraine of a temporary mechanism of absentia condemnation of citizens who are hiding from the investigation for more than six months.
However, such a process may not recognize Yanukovych and his defense.
Difficulties for prosecutors on this procedure began from the very beginning - since the announcement of suspicion of high treason. This is the public prosecutor Yuri Lutsenko made in November 2016 during a meeting on another case - concerning five ex-fighters "Berkut", where Viktor Yanukovych acted as a witness through video communication from Rostov-on-Don.
Lutsenko read the charge during a break in court, and Yanukovych's lawyers claim that their client did not hear suspicions, and he was not legally handed over.
In later interviews, Yanukovych claimed that the essence of suspicion is unknown to him.
Prosecutors sent documents to all known addresses of Yanukovych, as well as to the Rostov court, where the ex-president.
On March 16 the Verkhovna Rada gave more opportunities for the prosecutor's office to pursue Viktor Yanukovych in absentia.
The deputies made changes in the legislation and, among other things, allowed to hand in the summons concerning the absentee conviction not personally, but to send to the last known address.
Also, the person is now considered to be notified if the agenda was published on the website of law enforcement agencies. The Obolonsky court made this on April 19, 2017.
Position of Yanukovych All charges Viktor Yanukovych denied in an interview.
To come to Ukraine, he refuses because of fears about his own security and distrust of Ukrainian justice.
Since the spring of 2014, he lives in Russia.
As his lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk said on the air of the Espresso channel the day before, the defense considers absentee conviction illegal.
With regard to this, their client has already sent a submission to the European Court of Human Rights.
"Viktor Yanukovych has already signed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, which points to the failure to respect the right to access to justice and to unlawful attempts to convict in absentia. This suit was signed and handed over to my English colleagues for submission to the European Court of Human Rights, "Serdyuk said..
Asked whether Viktor Yanukovych can participate in the process through video communication, Serdyuk noted that the client "wants to participate in the process".
At the same time, Serdyuk claims that the court summoned his client in violation of the law. A pier, publications in the media and the direction of agendas for the last place of residence in Russia are not enough.
What will it give?.
Even if the Ukrainian court in absentia and condemns Viktor Yanukovych, there are questions about his extradition by Russia. This is understood by the Ukrainian prosecutor's office, which states that this is only the first stage of the process concerning Viktor Yanukovych.
"The indictment in this production will allow using confiscation and confiscating all Yanukovych assets concentrated in Ukraine and abroad," the deputy prosecutor general Yevgeny Enin said in a recent interview..
At the same time, he specified that the court on state treason is the first part of the charges, and further there can be processes to usurp power and economic crimes.
On the eve of the first meeting in the Yanukovych case, law enforcement bodies raised the information wave against the ex-president.
On April 28, the government announced the return of almost $ 1.5 billion to the budget of the "Yanukovych encirclement", which were arrested in Ukrainian banks.
And on May 1, Yuriy Lutsenko made a special televised address on the beginning of the trial of Yanukovych. He accused the former president of promoting the annexation of the Crimea and the conflict in the Donbass. He added that the court will not be a "political trial".
"All the rights of the defendant guaranteed by the Ukrainian legislation will be observed at this process," the Prosecutor General said..
Vitaly Serdyuk called the process political, and all statements of the authorities around this - PR.
The trial can last a long time. There are no clear limitations to the completion of the trial on conviction in absentia in the legislation. It is important for prosecutors to begin the process until the fall of 2017, when such a mechanism will cease to function, but earlier initiated trials can be completed according to the old rules.