The State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has completed an investigation into a major case against the former leadership of Ukraine for organizing the dispersal and execution of demonstrators on February 18 to 20, 2014. The indictment has been sent to court, the SBI press service said.

"Members of the criminal group are accused of committing these crimes – former high-ranking officials: the President of Ukraine; the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine; the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine; the head of the SBU; the first deputy head of the SBU – the head of the Anti-Terrorism Center; the Minister of Defense of Ukraine; the commander of the Internal Affairs troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine; acting head of the National Police of Ukraine department in Kyiv; deputy head of the National Police of Ukraine, head of the public security police; commander of Berkut at the National Police of Ukraine department in Kyiv," the SBI said.

As the investigation established, the defendants in the case on February 18 to 20, 2014 gave orders and made appropriate decisions on the use by law enforcement officers without appropriate grounds and in violation of the norms of the current legislation of special means, military equipment, firearms for forceful counteraction and dispersal of demonstrators in center of the capital and stopping protests. This was done in excess of power, official authority, without any legal grounds.

According to the PGO press service, the investigation established that in the morning of February 18, 2014, members of a criminal group led by the former president, using the powers, forces and means of the departments they headed, organized a forceful dispersal of participants in a street march to the Verkhovna Rada Ukraine in support of voting for a return to the 2004 Constitution, which provided for limiting the powers of the President of Ukraine. In addition, in the afternoon of February 18, 2014, the accused organized an assault on the Maidan under the guise of an "anti-terrorist operation." And on the morning of February 20 - the shooting of protesters by officers of the special purpose company Berkut, subordinate to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the city of Kyiv.

"Such actions of the former president and former heads of law enforcement agencies led to massive casualties among protesters in the central part of Kyiv, including the death of 67 civilians. In total, 887 people and 132 law enforcement officers were injured. Property damage amounted to more than UAH 16 million," the SBI said.

In order to avoid liability, the former officials fled from Ukraine, so the pre-trial investigation was carried out according to a special procedure, and the investigating judge chose a preventive measure in the form of detention against them.

In total, the criminal proceedings combine 1,019 episodes of criminal obstruction of protests and total 1,878 volumes of collected materials.

"The former president and leaders of the security bloc are accused of organizing, from February 18 to February 20, 2014, as part of a criminal group, illegal obstruction of meetings, rallies, processions and demonstrations, abuse of power and official powers by law enforcement officials, premeditated murders and completed attempted murders, causing intentional grievous bodily harm, as well as organizing a terrorist act," the SBI said.

The pre-trial investigation also established that the former head of the SBU and the commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR served in the Russian armed forces, and, as a result, received Russian citizenship, received admission and access to military and state secrets of Russia, took the oath of loyalty to its people and were provided with all types of support in the Russian armed forces. By giving orders to use violence against protesters, they acted in the interests of Russia, to which they swore an oath.

"Given that some of the accused are hiding in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the latter will be taken into custody and handed over to the court immediately after the liberation of these territories by the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the SBI said.

Those involved in the case face life imprisonment.