President Vetoes the Bill on Immunity for ATO Fighters

President Petro Poroshenko has vetoed bill №4255, which would grant amnesty to hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners.

According to Verkhovna Rada website, the bill was sent back to the Parliament with additional proposals from the President.

The bill passed in July provided, among other things, that ATO fighters be exempt from punishment for crimes which they may have committed, even if the offense took place outside of the ATO.

During the discussion, MPs did not hide the fact that the document was developed primarily to give immunity to ATO participants.

However, Ukrainian human rights activists criticized the legislative initiative, pointing out a number of flaws in it.

For example, Oleksandra Matviychuk, Head of the board of Center for Civil Liberties, argued that the document will allow law enforcement officers who committed crimes during Euromaidan to avoid responsibility for their actions by using their status as ATO fighters.

Yevhen Zakharov, Chairman of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, noted that the bill would exempt even those who were guilty of looting homes.