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Ukraine court asks to arrange Yanukovych’s questioning via video conference

The lawyer explained that Yanukovych cannot come for the questioning "due to threats to his life"

Viktor Yanukovych Valeriy Matytsin/ITAR-TASS

Viktor Yanukovych

© Valeriy Matytsin/ITAR-TASS

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KIEV, May 18. /TASS/. A Ukrainian court has backed a proposal of defense lawyers of Viktor Yanukovych to organize questioning of the former president in a format of a video conference, a lawyer of ex-members of Berkut special police said on Wednesday.

"The court ruled that Ukraine’s justice ministry turns to Russia’s justice ministry with a request to organize the questioning in the format of a video conference," Alexander Goroshinsky told a press conference in Kiev.

The lawyer explained that Yanukovych cannot come for the questioning "due to threats to his life." "This is enough to carry out the questioning in the format of a video conference."

Goroshnisky said the legal procedure will take around six months.

Yanukovych, who served as Ukraine’s president in 2010-2014, fled Kiev denouncing what he called a violent coup in Ukraine in February 2014. After Maidan leaders came to power, several criminal cases against Yanukovych and members of his team were opened. In February 2015, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, deprived Yanukovych of his title of president.

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