Ukraine Officials Escape Censure over Crackdown

Ukraine's opposition on Wednesday criticized the amnesty of two top officials charged with abuse of power for pushing the police chief to use force against anti-government protesters.

Volodymyr Sivkovych, deputy secretary of Ukraine's national security and defense council, and Oleksandr Popov, the head of Kiev city administration, were suspended in December over a violent crackdown on demonstrators camping on Kiev's central Independence Square on the night of November 30.

The crackdown took place shortly after protests erupted over President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to back away from the European Union in favour of neighbor Russia.

But instead of crushing the pro-EU demonstrations it made them stronger, and they have continued ever since.

Prosecutors in the capital said an investigation into the two officials was dropped as part of an amnesty law approved by Yanukovych-- and aimed mainly at arrested opposition demonstrators.

The two had been charged with abuse of power for having gone to the office of the police chief and pushed him to use force against protesters.

Yanukovych signed an amnesty law at the end of January following violence in Kiev that left several dead and hundreds injured.

It stipulates that all detained protesters will be released, but only if public buildings currently being occupied by demonstrators are vacated by Saturday.

Responding to the pair's amnesty, the opposition demanded that all protesters be released "immediately".

The UDAR party of boxer turned opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said the protesters were "victims of arbitrary justice."

"Protesters find themselves behind bars and proceedings against them are not only not abandoned, but modified so that they get heavier sentences. Activists are taken hostage," UDAR said in a statement.

"The prosecutor calls for 15 years in jail against a man because he had tires in the boot of his car," it said.

"At the same time, Popov and Sivkovych... are let off," it added, denouncing the "cynicism" of authorities.

The party of jailed opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko, meanwhile, said the move showed that authorities were preparing "a showdown" against protesters.

"Authorities are showing security forces that they do not abandon those who violate the law by executing orders," it said in a statement.