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Ukraine may ban extradition of foreigners who fought in Donbas

The Ukrainian deputies believe the moratorium may embrace 5,000 people

KIEV, November 13 /TASS/. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) has registered a draft law on moratorium on extradition of foreigners who took part in the security operation in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas province. Its text and the explanatory note were published at the parliament’s website on Friday.

"The bill suggests banning any form of forceful extradition from Ukraine of foreigners or persons without citizenship who were directly involved in the anti-terror operation (a security operation in Donbas)," the explanatory note said. The extradition moratorium, the document went on to say, concerns mainly foreign volunteers.

The bill’s authors are Dmitry Tymchuk, a deputy of People’s Front (Ukraine) parliamentary faction, and Ivan Vinnik from the Pyotr Poroshenko Bloc.

The Ukrainian deputies believe the moratorium may embrace 5,000 people.

At the same time, any foreigner will have to prove in court the fact that he fought to defend Ukraine’s interests. "The fact of participation of a foreign citizen or a person without citizenship in protecting Ukraine’s interests may be established by a Ukrainian court on an application submitted by a foreigner, a person without citizenship or their representatives or on the basis of presented evidence," the draft law said.