Ukrainian PM's criminal record revealed

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s criminal record was revealed today amid media allegations that he tried to hide his past from voters ahead of the presidential election.

Rumours about Yanukovych’s convictions have swirled since the announcement last month that he would run in the October 31 election with the backing of President Leonid Kuchma.

Opposition leaders have demanded information about the court records.

According to Yanukovych’s spokesman, Oleksandr Ternavsky, court officials in the prime minister’s native Donetsk region, said Yanukovych was sentenced to three years in prison for robbery and assault in 1967, when he was 17, but was released due to his age.

The conviction was annulled when the alleged victim withdrew his statement, Ternavsky said.

In 1970, Yanukovych was jailed for two years for assault and battery, but again the alleged victim withdrew testimony, Ternavsky said.

Court officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month, President Leonid Kuchma defended Yanukovych, saying that speculation about prime minister’s convictions made him laugh.

Kuchma said Yanukovych could not have been Communist Party member if he had committed a serious crime, referring to the strict requirements for party members during Soviet times.

Kuchma has said he will not run for a third term, although the Constitutional Court ruled that he could.

Many analysts believe the election will be a showdown between Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.