Seoul, Jul 9 (AP) A South Korean court has approved the arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges related to his brief imposition of martial law in December, accepting a special prosecutor's claim that he poses a risk of destroying evidence.

Yoon, who was ousted in April after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, is heading back to a detention centre near Seoul after four months. He had been released from that facility in March after the Seoul Central District Court overturned his January arrest, allowing him to stand trial for rebellion without being held in custody.

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Yoon's criminal case is now being handled by a special prosecutor who is pursuing additional charges over his authoritarian push including abuse of power, falsifying official documents and obstruction of official duties.

Yoon's lawyers had denounced the request for his arrest as excessive and lacking evidence. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)