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Law allowing court to try in absentia ex-president Yanukovich comes into force in Ukraine

Earlier, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko signed legislation allowing courts to put those charged with corruption on trial in their absence

© EPA/Sergey Ilnitskiy

KIEV, October 31. /TASS/. A law allowing the court to try in absentia former President Viktor Yanukovich has come into force in Ukraine. Its full text was published in the Voice of Ukraine daily on Friday.

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Poroshenko signs trial-in-absentia law for those charged with corruption

Earlier, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko signed legislation allowing courts to put those charged with corruption on trial in their absence.

As he presented the bill, Justice Minister Pavel Petrenko explained that the law opened up an opportunity to take to the logical outcome tens of criminal cases against former officials, including Viktor Yanukovich, Sergey Arbuzov (prime minister during February’s riots - eds. TASS) and others. Multi-billion assets belonging to these persons are under arrest but cannot be included in the budget without a court decision.

The Ukrainian parliament on October 7 after two attempts adopted in the second reading a bill introducing administration of justice in absentia in relation to persons suspected of corruption and opening up an opportunity for confiscating their assets.

The presidential press service has said that the law signed by the head of state envisages “irreversibility of punishment for certain crimes against national security and public safety along with corruption offences.

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