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Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office refuses to accept Yanukovych’s testimony by video

According to the lawyer, the former president of Ukraine is requesting Ukrainian prosecutors to question him via a video-link because he fears for his life

Viktor Yanukovych AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

Viktor Yanukovych

© AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

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Prosecutor general: Charges will be brought soon against Ukraine’s ex-president Yanukovych

KIEV, July 29. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has refused to hear the testimony by ex-President Viktor Yanukovych via a video-conference in a probe opened against him in Ukraine because of difficulties with confirming his identity, the head of the special investigation department, Sergey Gorbatyuk, said on Wednesday.

"If a person is staying on the territory of some other state, personal identification … must be carried out by respective agencies of that state. In this case we have no confirmation either from Yanukovych himself or from the state where he stays," he said.

According to Gorbatyuk, in order to hold such a video-conference, Yanukovich must appear in embassy agencies of Ukraine in Russia or in Russian law enforcement agencies for personal identification.

He also said that a letter explaining the rules of legislation had been sent to lawyers of the former Ukrainian president, adding that there was no reply as of yet.

Earlier on Wednesday, Yanukovych’s lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk said his client was requesting Ukrainian prosecutors to question him via a video-conference as he feared for his life.

"As of today, I have no possibility to arrive at the place of the pre-trial investigation for participation in the investigative measures, considering the existence of a real danger for my life," Yanukovych said in his letter to Ukrainian investigators.

His request for a testimony via a video-conference was sent to concerned judicial agencies of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Viktor Shokin said on Tuesday the investigation would soon complete finalizing the text of accusations against Yanukovych.

"By now, the indictment against Yanukovych and others on charges of the creation of a criminal community, abuse of power and high treason has been actually formulated and completed," he said.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych

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