Yanukovych's appearance at pretrial investigation office can prevent in absentia probe – PGO

13:58, 14.03.2017 1 min read

Only the voluntary arrival of disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych at the pretrial investigation office in Ukraine can prevent a special probe in absentia against him, spokeswoman for Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Larisa Sarhan has said.

"We reiterate: there is only one way the special pretrial investigation [can be stopped] – if Yanukovych appears at the office in Ukraine conducting the pretrial investigation. There exist no other ways to stop the special investigation against him," Sarhan said on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

She added, "Soon the case against the ex-president of Ukraine will be turned over to the court. Yanukovych will be held accountable under Ukrainian law."

Yanukovych's lawyer Vitaliy Serdiuk earlier said the probe in absentia involving his client had been halted pursuant to Part 5 of Article 297-4 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, which states if grounds for an pretrial investigation in absentia "no longer exist," further pretrial investigation is carried out according to the normal procedure.