Mailis Reps of Estonia and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin of Sweden, co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Ukraine by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), have expressed concern at the ongoing detention of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
“Her detention, ostensibly for contempt of court, strengthens the perception of the political nature of the charges against her,” the two rapporteurs said in an Aug. 11 statement.
The ongoing criminal procedure, they said, underscores the urgent need for further judicial reforms in Ukraine.
Current legislation seems to provide for the possibility that political decisions can be criminalized when a new administration does not agree with them, they said in the statement.
“Any politically-motivated prosecution of former government members would be unacceptable. We call upon the Ukrainian authorities to ensure Ms Tymoshenko’s immediate release and to exercise maximum restraint in the context of the trial against her as well as other former government members,” the co-rapporteurs said.
Both said they plan to visit Ukraine Sept. 19-23 in the framework of the ongoing monitoring of Ukraine by PACE, an assembly that brings together 318 members from the national parliaments of the 47 member states.
