Ukrainian court sentences ex-president to 13 years in prison

SANAA, Jan. 25 (YPA) – A Ukrainian court on Thursday sentenced former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in absentia to 13 years in prison on charges of “treason”.

Yanukovich, 68, has been a refugee in Russia since 2014.

According to the court, Yanukovich “committed through his illegal and deliberate practices, a crime that undermines the foundations of Ukrainian national security” is “treason”.

Yanukovych was elected president in 2010 and fled in February 2014 to southern Russia After several weeks of protests in Kiev the regime was bloody suppressed. Parliament disbanded it on 22 February 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin later revealed that Yakunovic’s escape was carried out in a special operation prepared in Moscow for the purpose of getting him out of Ukraine.

Sameera Hassn