You're reading: Lawyer: Rostov Regional Court ready to organize Yanukovych’s questioning via video link with Kyiv on Nov 25

Sviatoshynsky District Court of Kyiv received on Nov. 16 a notice from the Rostov Regional Court of the Russian Federation stating that it will be possible to question Ukraine’s Former President Viktor Yanukovych via a video linkup as a witness in the case against five former members of Berkut riot police charged with killings of Maidan activists, Yanukovych’s defense lawyer Vitaliy Serdiuk  said.

“Sviatoshynsky court has received this notification, and now it’s up to Sviatoshynsky court to properly organize the video conference,” the lawyer said.

Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014 after mass shootings of protesters on Kyiv’s Independence Square, or Maidan Nezalezhnosti. He has been hiding in Russia since then. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada moved to adopt, by 328 votes, a resolution on Feb. 22, 2014 to establish that Yanukovych had abdicated from exercising his constitutional powers and was no longer performing his duties as the country’s president. Therefore, the Ukrainian parliament then announced an early presidential election.

Yanukovych was declared wanted by Interpol at the Ukrainian prosecution’s request dated Jan. 12, 2015. However, following the ex-president’s appeal against the charges on his violation of Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files suspended the access to the information concerning the international search for Yanukovych in the files of the Interpol General Secretariat.

Yanukovych’s lawyer Vitaliy Serdiuk said on Oct. 13 that the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for Migration Affairs officially confirmed that Yanukovych stays in Russia legally as he has been granted temporary asylum.

Earlier, the Russian Justice Ministry sent to the Soviet District Court of Rostov-on-Don Ukraine’s request to question Yanukovych and Shuliak via video conference.

Sviatoshynsky District Court of Kyiv is considering criminal proceedings against several former officers of Berkut riot police charged with killing of 48 Euromaidan activists in Kyiv.