KIEV, December 23 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed into law a bill to free all protesters detained while attending demonstrations in favor of integration with the European Union, the head of the presidential administration said Monday.
The bill, which had been proposed by the opposition, was adopted by Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday, garnering 339 votes out of the 367 lawmakers who attended the session.
The amnesty also means that no new cases will be opened against Ukrainian pro-EU protesters, and that current convictions will be annulled.
Kiev stunned Europe last month by announcing that it was indefinitely postponing the signing of association and trade deals with the EU, opting instead to strengthen ties with a Moscow-led customs bloc.
Ukraine’s rejection of the EU deal incited mass protests and threw the country into a political crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians attending rallies demanding the dissolution of the government and calling for early elections.
