Ousted Ukrainian President Yanukovych Planning a Comeback

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com March 1, 2016)

Ukraine’s ousted President Viktor Yanukovych – who fled to Russia in February 2014 following months of anti-government protests – intends to return to his former position as leader of Ukraine, Yanukovych’s lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk said, the TASS news agency reported Tuesday.

“He intends to return to Ukraine. Yanukovych has never resigned from his post, and [the manner of] his dismissal was a gross violation of the Ukrainian Constitution,” Serdyuk said in an interview.

Following Ukraine’s request, Interpol put Yanukovych on an international wanted list on embezzlement charges in January last year, but later removed him from the list due to the alleged political motivation of the request.

“Yanukovych is not currently on an international wanted list,” Serdyuk said, adding that there is still a threat to the former president’s life and safety in Ukraine, TASS reported.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) registered a complaint by Yanukovych against Ukraine in October last year.

Yanukovych has requested the court to “confirm the violation of his rights, including the right to a fair trial, the right to an investigation into attempts on his life and the right to not be discriminated against for his political status and convictions,” TASS reported, citing the former president’s lawyers.

[featured image is file photo]