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Appeal rejected

December 25, 2011

An appeals court in Kyiv has defied pressure from the EU, keeping Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's top opposition leader, behind bars. Tymoshenko said she will take her case to the European Court of Human Rights.

https://p.dw.com/p/13Yhu
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
The EU says the conviction is politically motivatedImage: dpad

The Kyiv Appeals Court upheld on Wednesday a lower court's guilty verdict and seven year sentence of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko, once one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution, was convicted in October of abuse of power in relation to 2009 negotiations for a natural gas contract with Russia.

From her jail cell, Tymoshenko slammed the latest decision.

"Each Ukrainian risks being deprived of freedom and rights, and Ukraine risks losing its independence," she said in a statement. "It matters little if I'm in prison or elsewhere … I will never end my fight."

The United States and the European Union have called for Tymoshenko's release and charged that her imprisonment is politically motivated. On Monday the EU warned President Viktor Yanukovych that an association agreement between his country and the bloc was dependent on Tymoshenko's release.

"The verdict against Yulia Tymoshenko is another setback to Ukraine's path of rapprochement with the European Union, which is also a union of values," said Markus Löning, Germany's top human rights official. "Among those values is that political differences must be dealt with through political competition."

Taking it to Strasbourg

Tymoshenko has made it clear she does believe she can obtain justice in Ukraine. On Thursday she said would boycott the appeals process and has lodged an appeal with the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, which is under the auspices of the Council of Europe rather than the EU, of which Ukraine is not a member.

"Seeking truth and justice in the Ukrainian courts is completely futile," she said.

Prosecutor Lilya Frolova said Tymoshenko had a right to appeal the most recent ruling at the high court within the next three months and would have to go through all judicial instances if she is to take her case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Author: Holly Fox (AFP, AP)
Editor: David Levitz