Ukraine government files charges against Yanukovych for usurping power

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine filed criminal charges against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for usurping power in 2010 by altering the Ukrainian Constitution by illegal means. With a single ruling, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine then overturned the 2004 constitutional amendments dividing power between the parliament and president. The Ukrainian government also submitted on March 6 a global alert request to Interpol for the arrest of Yanukovych for the crimes of abuse of authority and murder.

Zenon Zawada: The Ukrainian government is pursuing an appropriate strategy in prosecuting Yanukovych for crimes he committed long before the violence and destruction he inflicted on central Kyiv last month. He would not have been able to pursue a campaign of terror and violence against the Euro-Maidan movement had he not illegally overturned the 2004 amendments that provided for greater checks and balances in the Ukrainian government. Although the Constitutional Court reached that ruling, it’s widely accepted that it was done at the behest of Yanukovych, who established a monopoly on the entire Ukrainian judicial system through intimidation and bribery. It’s such illegal abuses of power that he must also be punished for, in addition to the tortures and murders of the last few months.