Ukraine: Yanukovych expected to be questioned at Kyiv trial of Berkut riot police
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 28 November 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ukraine: Yanukovych expected to be questioned at Kyiv trial of Berkut riot police, 28 November 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a2a9a.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 28, 2016
Exiled former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is due again to be questioned as a witness at a trial of five former police officers accuse of shooting protesters in 2014.
Yanukovych had been expected for questioning via video link from Russia on November 25 in the trial of five Berkut riot police accused of carrying out the shootings. However, protesters from the Pravy Sector nationalist group prevented the five defendants, who have pleaded not guilty, from being transported to court from jail.
Pravy Sector has vowed more protests ahead of court proceedings on November 28.
Many in Ukraine are angry that Yanukovych is appearing as a witness and is not facing trial himself.
Yanukovych, who is now in exile in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, is being investigated on suspicion of mass murder.
More than 100 demonstrators were killed in three months of street protests in Kyiv's Maidan Square.
The Maidan protests began in late 2013 after Yanukovych abruptly announced he was suspending a planned trade deal with the EU following pressure from the Kremlin.
Based reporting by AFP and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
