Ukraine's ex-president avoids detention in treason case as thousands rally

Law enforcement officers cordon off the area as supporters of Ukrainian former President Petro Poroshenko, who is suspected of high treason by financing pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine while in office in 2014-2015, attempt to set up tents near a court building before a hearing in Kyiv, Ukraine January 19, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV (Reuters) -Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko won a court ruling on Wednesday allowing him to remain at liberty while being investigated for treason in a probe he says was cooked up by allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Dressed in a traditional embroidered shirt, Poroshenko appeared in court while thousands of his supporters demonstrated outside, chanting and waving flags and briefly scuffling with police before the hearing.