A law firm representing former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych says he is suing Ukraine for violating his human rights, the Associated Press reports.

Yanukovych fled to Russia in February 2014 following months of anti-government protests. He later insisted he was threatened and forced to leave the country.

London-based Joseph Hage Aaronson said in a statement on Monday, October 19, that Yanukovych has lodged a lawsuit against Ukraine's government with the European Court of Human Rights for "repeatedly" violating his human rights.

A district court in Kiev in August began trying Yanukovych in absentia for his alleged role in the massacre on Kiev's main square at the end of the protest.

His lawyers said Yanukovych has suffered "discriminatory treatment due to his political status and opinions" and that he cannot return to Ukraine because of security risks.