KIEV, April 16 (RIA Novosti) – Prosecutors in eastern Ukraine have launched a second case this week against presidential candidate Oleh Tsarev, charging him with “actions aimed at territorial changes in the country,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday.
The candidate, known for his pro-federalization views, has been accused of delivering speeches during mass protests in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, in which he “voiced separatist intentions aimed at dividing the country,” the statement said.
The Kiev Prosecutor Office initiated a similar case against Tsarev Tuesday, accusing him of infringing territorial sovereignty. The candidate could face up to 12 years in jail if found guilty.
The 43-year-old Tsarev, a presidential candidate in Ukraine's upcoming May 25 election, was brutally beaten by radicals in Kiev Tuesday following his appearance in the Ukrainian talk show, “Svoboda Slova," meaning “Freedom of Speech."
After the attack, Tsarev said that he would not withdraw from the election.
Ukraine’s parliament passed a law earlier his month increasing penalties for separatism to up to 15 years in prison and allowing the confiscation of property belonging to those convicted of the crime.
The bill is pending the signature of Ukraine’s parliament-appointed acting President Oleksandr Turchynov and will come into force after being officially published.
The move came in response to ongoing protests in eastern Ukraine calling for the country’s federalization. The bill specifies the crime is related to acts of forced changes in the constitutional order and the seizure of government power.
