Court Watch
enemies. More specifically, Tymoshenko said, “The year 1937 has returned to Ukraine with this verdict and the repression of citizens.” Since Yanukovych assumed the presidency in 2010, almost a dozen of Tymoshenko’s associates have been arrested.
The European Union swiftly condemned the Ty- moshenko verdict as being politically motivated and called for Ukraine to guarantee a fair and transparent appeal. According to Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Tymoshenko’s verdict may have “profound implica- tions” for Ukraine’s relationship with the European Union. The verdict may derail Ukraine’s free trade and association agreement with the European Union that is in its final stages. Further, the verdict may even hinder Ukraine’s integration into the 27 country European Union bloc.
Since August 5, 2011, Tymoshenko has been in detention in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. She had been jailed during the trial pendency for contempt of court. While detained, her visitors have been bring- ing her “malyava,” which is prison slang for hand- written notes, a mode of communication used by generations of Soviet inmates. These unordinary malyava came from across Europe, including two from presidents, two from prime ministers, and three from foreign ministers. Tymoshenko’s ma- lyava generally served as personal reminders of the West’s support of Tymoshenko and were returned to her visitors so as not to be found during daily cell searches.
On November 15, 2011, Ukraine’s Parliament voted on a proposal proffered by allies and Western of- ficials, that if passed, would have reclassified Ty- moshenko’s abuse-of-power criminal offense to an economic misdemeanor and caused her release from detention. The reclassification would have al- lowed Tymoshenko to compete in the forthcoming (October 2012) elections as well. The proposal only garnered the support of 147 deputies out of 438. After the proposal failed, deputies from Tymoshen- ko’s BYuT (“Blok Yulia Tymoshenko”) party left the room. In reference to the Parliament vote, Andriy
Kozhemyakin, a BYuT deputy said: “You (parlia- ment) had a chance today to cancel the shameful Stalin-era (Criminal code) articles that were used against popular leaders in the previous decades.”
According to Tymoshenko’s attorney, Serhiy Vla- senko, she hopes to appeal her conviction to the European Court of Human Rights after her case has been appealed in the Ukrainian judiciary. Her domestic appeal of the October 11 conviction has already been submitted to the Pechersk District Court as of October 25 in time for the November 14 deadline.
President Yanukovych’s push for Tymoshenko’s prosecution has been portrayed as a drive to rid the government of corruption and malpractice. Accord- ing to supporters of Tymoshenko, President Yanuk- ovych’s actions are a result of his fear of her as a political rival and his encouragement of prosecution indicates he is trying to remove her as an opponent in the parliamentary elections next October.
On October 30, 2011, the European Union voted on the issue of sanctioning Ukraine for sentencing Tymoshenko, which resulted in sanctions being ruled out against Ukraine. According to the Danish Helsinki Committee, the trial of Tymoshenko has violated several fundamental legal principles that are common European values.
Very recently, Tymoshenko, while in detention, was again charged, this time with tax evasion and em- bezzlement. The more than 15 year-old-case was recently reopened after Tymoshenko’s seven year sentence was meted out. The charges arise from the mid-1990s, when Tymoshenko was the presi- dent of United Energy Systems of Ukraine, a gas company. According to the Ukrainian Tax Service, Tymoshenko has been charged with concealing roughly $165 million in revenues and for failing to pay approximately $6 million in taxes. Tymoshenko had been charged with corruption in both Ukraine and Russia previously relating to her involvement in the gas company.
In late December, an appeals court in Kiev upheld ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 3 » February 2012 15
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