Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych may take part in a trial over the high treason case against him only in Ukraine, which guarantees his safety, Prosecutor General of the country Yuriy Lutsenko said.
“Yanukovych insists on his wish to participate in the trial, interrogate people and make statements. He has only one legal option for this, that is, to arrive to Ukraine. Our law does not stipulate other options of active involvement in the court proceedings. He is apparently afraid of doing so, at the same time he contrives fantastic stories that he should be killed while crossing the border and other ones,” Lutsenko said in an interview with the 5 TV Channel on July 3.
Yanukovych should not be allowed “to be a party to the trial via a TV link-up from Moscow,” he said. “He can only hear the trial and communicate with his defense team via a TV link-up. But sitting in Moscow, one cannot interrogate witnesses. The defendant can interrogate witnesses, but in Kyiv, at the trial,” he said.
The prosecutor general pledged that the Ukrainian state can ensure defense to Yanukovych, even when he is accused of such a heinous crime.
“Ukraine guarantees him sufficient protection so that he will be able to attend the trial,” he said.
Judge of the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv Vladyslav Deviatko, who is presiding in the high treason case versus Yanukovych, is holding the trial in compliance with Ukrainian and European legislation and is independent in making decisions, Lutsenko said.
“The judge should be given a credit, as he precisely adheres to Ukrainian and European legislation. Someone, in particular me, possibly does not like that it is dragged out for a long time, but the judge is doing everything in line with the law. And he is independent in making his decisions,” he said.
The documents and other pieces of evidence will be studied at the next court sessions, “very well-known witnesses” will be summoned, Lutsenko said. Yanukovych’s defense team enjoys all rights, he also said.
At the same time, the prosecutor general said that after the hearings of the high treason case are over, a bill of indictment on the Maidan shootings case will be immediately filed with the court. “We have updated the accusation as part of this case owning to titanic efforts made by the department of special inquiries, a group of prosecutors and investigators. It was appropriately handed to the defense team of Yanukovych and several other people. Investigators and prosecutors report that a bill of indictment in this case may be prepared in autumn,” he said.
Provided that several cases against one person are filed with the court they can be combined in line with the legislation, and their hearing will be thus dragged out, the decision was made to submit the cases in court, as long as the hearing of the previous ones is completed, Lutsenko said.
