Russia confirms that Kyiv's questioning of Yanukovych via video conference will take place on November 25
The Head of the Department of Special Investigations of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, Sergey Gorbatyuk, noted that former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych could be interrogated as a witness in the case of the murder of Maidan activists.
“As far as I’m aware, Russia sent a confirmation that this interrogation should take place on the 25th of November,” Gorbatyuk stated on 112.Ukraine TV on Saturday.
As previously reported, on November 16, Yanukovych’s lawyer, Vitaliy Serdyuk reported that the Svyatoshinsky District Court of Kyiv received a notification from the Rostov Regional Court of the Russian Federation on the possibility of interrogating the former President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, via videoconference as a witness in the criminal case on the charges of murder of Maidan activists made against five former members of Berkut.
Yanukovych left Ukraine in February 2014 after the mass shootings of protesters at Kyiv’s Independence Square. Since then, he has been hiding in the territory of the Russian Federation. On the 22nd of February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported a resolution to oust Yanukovych by 328 votes. By means of this resolution, it found that the former President withdrew from implementing constitutional obligations and failed to execute his duties. In this regard, extraordinary presidential elections were scheduled.
Interpol declared Viktor Yanukovych wanted at the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office on January 12, 2015. However, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files suspended access to information in the Interpol General Secretariat related to the international search for Yanukovych due to his appeal against violation of Articles 3 and 4 of the Interpol’s Constitution.
On the 13th of October, his lawyer reported that the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia officially confirmed that Viktor Yanukovych was in the territory of the Russian Federation and had been granted temporary asylum.
In October, the Russian Ministry of Justice sent Ukraine’s request to interrogate Yanukovych and the former Commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Stanislav Shulyak, to the Soviet District Court of Rostov-on-Don. In late October, Vitaliy Serdyuk reported that Russia had no final answer about interrogating his client via videoconference between Russian and Ukrainian Courts.