"The PGO Special Investigations Department has notified about change in previously announced suspicions and about new ones brought against Yanukovych, ex-Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, ex-Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine Viktor Ratushniak, ex-chief of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Yakymenko, former first deputy of the SBU chief Volodymyr Totsky, ex-head of the Interior Ministry's Kyiv police department Petro Fedchuk, who are charged with organizing and committing a number of grave and especially grave crimes, acting as an organized criminal group against protesters in the center of Kyiv from February 18, 2014, to February 20, 2014," Lutsenko wrote.
Read alsoKyiv's court rules to consider Yanukovych treason case in absentiaIn particular, they are suspected of illegally impeding the organizing and conduct of rallies, marches and demonstrations, allowing law enforcement officers to exceed authority, deliberately killing two and more persons, committing an attempted murder of two or more persons, intentional inflicting bodily harm, and organizing an act of terrorism.
According to the PGO, the notices of suspicion were handed over to the defense lawyers of the accused officials in keeping with the procedure stipulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine.
According to earlier reports, Yanukovych is charged with treason (the punishment is from ten to 15 years in prison), encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, which led to the death of people or other grave consequences (from seven to 12 years in prison), and waging an aggressive war or aggressive military actions (from ten to 15 years in prison).
