EU court annuls 'old' sanctions against Yanukovych and his son

The European Union's General Court has declared the sanctions imposed two years ago against fugitive Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, and his son Oleksandr, null and void, removing them from the respective sanctions list, Euronews reported on Dec. 20.

The court further ordered the European Council to pay legal costs for the Yanukovychs.

The judges ruled that the Council “made an error in its assessment” as officials failed to prove that the judicial proceedings against the Yanukovych family in Ukraine were fair, after Yanukovych challenged the sanctions.

The fugitive president’s lawyers argued that his conviction for treason by a Ukrainian court was politically motivated and procedurally unfair, and emphasized that he was unable to challenge separate corruption charges, though it is unclear if the court acknowledged that Yanukovych had fled to Russia on his own initiative.

Meanwhile, his son Oleksandr was accused of cooperating with pro-Russian separatist groups in Donbas, but the judges decided that there could be no presumption of legality of the Ukrainian legal system, despite Ukraine’s efforts to reform as part of gaining EU candidacy.

However, these are not the only sanctions against the Yanukovych family. Another EU sanctions decision from August 2022 is still in effect and has not yet been challenged, preventing both Yanukovych father and son from owning assets in the European Union and entering its territory.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine