Painted portrait of Viktor F. Yanukovych (Credit: Photo by Thierry Ehrmann via Flickr)

The New York Times “referred imprecisely to [the] possible fate” of Viktor F. Yanukovych in a Feb. 25 article about Yanukovych’s home, a March 4 correction states.   Yanukovych was ousted as Ukraine’s president last month after violent protests.

The Times article predicted that Yanukovych would likely be executed after a trial by the Kiev government, but as the correction explains, “Ukraine does not now have the death penalty.”

NewsDiffs captured an archive of the article in question. (Credit: NewsDiffs, screenshot)

The article originally said, according to NewsDiffs’ archive of the article, Yanukovych “apparently judged it a safe and sympathetic place to hide out from a new government in Kiev that wants him put on trial for mass murder, a trial which, if held in Ukraine, would probably lead to his execution.”

The March 4 correction reads:

“An article on Wednesday about the unfinished Crimean palace of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, referred imprecisely to his possible fate. While the new government in Kiev wants to put him on trial for mass murder, and many are calling for his execution, Ukraine does not now have the death penalty, so it is premature to say that a trial, if held in Ukraine, would ‘probably’ lead to his execution.”