An appeal against the verdict delivered on ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych in the treason case will not be filed and prosecutors will focus on proving his involvement in other crimes, Ukrainian Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko has said.
“I’ve made a decision not to file an appeal [against the verdict on Yanukovych],” Lutsenko said on TV channel Pryamiy on Feb. 1 evening.
On Jan. 24, Kyiv’s Obolonsky district court sentenced Yanukovych to 13 years in prison for treason and complicity in Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine.
“Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych shall be found guilty of committing crimes under Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 111, Part 1, Article 27, Part 5, and Article 437, Part 2 and shall be given a punishment in the form of 13 years of imprisonment under Article 111, Part 1 and 12 years of imprisonment under Article 27, Part 5, and Article 437, Part 2. Based on Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 70, he shall be given a consolidated sentence of 13 years in prison through the merger of sentences,” Judge Vladyslav Deviatko said.
The criminal proceedings against Yanukovych were conducted in line with a special in absentia procedure, as he is currently in Russia.
At the same time, the court found Yanukovych not guilty on charges of complicity with the encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which led to deaths of people or other grave consequences.
Prosecutor of the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office Maksym Krym told reporters after the court session that the prosecutors would have to decide whether to appeal the verdict after they studied the verdict in detail.
