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Protests in Ukraine likely pre-planned: official

01 February 2014 01:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Recent anti-government protests in Ukraine could have been planned in advance, a senior official said Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"We have information that the mass protests, which began in Kiev on Nov. 21 last year, were not a spontaneous movement, but were planned beforehand," Oleg Gnativ, deputy chief of the Interior Ministry's investigation department, told reporters.

The Interior Ministry had found information on protest planning in the opposition Fatherland party's file servers, Gnativ said, adding the "use of force scenario" was foreseen when the rallies were planned.

Earlier in the day, President Viktor Yanukovych signed into law a bill granting amnesty to all detained protesters, and approved the repeal of controversial legislation that has fueled the riots in Ukraine.

The rallies started as a peaceful movement against a government decision to put on hold an association agreement with the European Union and opt for closer relations with Russia.

Demonstrations turned violent on Jan. 19, when radical activists attacked riot police with fireworks and petrol bombs. At least four people were reportedly killed and hundreds of others, including police officers, injured during the clashes.