Law enforcement officials have concluded their investigation into Yanukovych's usurpation of power
Prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General and investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations have completed a pretrial investigation into former President Viktor Yanukovych and 16 former high-ranking officials regarding the formation of a criminal organization and the seizure of power.
These actions were aimed at establishing personal control over the state apparatus and led to the violent dispersal of protesters during the Revolution of Dignity, resulting in the deaths of 70 civilians and injuries to more than 1,200 others.
According to the investigation, members of the organization held key positions in all branches of government and law enforcement agencies, and in November 2013, they perceived the peaceful protests as a threat to their hold on power. Since the suspects—including a former prime minister, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the prosecutor general, and the ministers of defense and internal affairs—are in hiding in Russia or in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the investigation against them was conducted under a special procedure in absentia. The court has already ordered pretrial detention for all defendants, and this proceeding is separate from the case concerning the direct organization of the executions and is a continuation of the investigation that previously found Yanukovych guilty of aiding Russia’s aggressive war and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
We previously reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) confiscated the assets of Vyacheslav Zanevsky, who served as Viktor Yanukovych’s head of security, and transferred them to the state.
A photo has surfaced on social media showing Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the “Batkivshchyna” party, in a friendly conversation with Anna Herman, a member of the Party of Regions and an ally of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych—who is under U.S. sanctions. They met and greeted each other at the so-called Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., held on the occasion of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
