Kyiv’s Obolonsky District Court has decided to interrogate defense witnesses for disgraced ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych. The witnesses had previously been declared, but lawyers did not ensure their appearance.
“The court has decided, pursuant to a paragraph of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to resume only the elucidation of the case by questioning witnesses whose appearance at the hearing was called by the defense,” said presiding judge Vladyslav Deviatko on May 3.
The court is going to hear testimony from Antimaidan rally participant Andriy Nikiforov, who will participate in a video call from Russian-occupied Crimea, and from former Vyshgorod district council member from Yanukovych’s Party of Regions Anatoliy Kobylynsky, who headed the Grosser protection agency, which was responsible for guarding Yanukovych’s Mezhyhirya residence outside of Kyiv.
At the previous hearing on April 19, the court decided to start the judicial debate on the case of Viktor Yanukovych’s government. Yanukovych’s lawyers left the courtroom. The court then postponed the hearing to May 3, indicating that it would replace Yanukovych’s lawyers if they failed to appear.
