Convicted former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has again refused to take part in a court hearing on alleged fraud in the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation, according to the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine.
The hearing was scheduled for Friday.
“During a meeting with the convict today, the chief of the
Kachanivska Colony [the prison where Tymoshenko is serving her
seven-year sentence], Ihor Kolpaschykov, proposed that she take part in a
court session via videoconference, which is permitted by the current
Criminal Procedure Code,” the Penitentiary Service said in a statement
on Thursday.
“As on all previous occasions, the convict rejected the proposal. She
has not yet written any statement about her willingness or refusal to
take part in the session on December 6. The State Penitentiary Service
hereby stresses its readiness to organize Tymoshenko’s transportation to
the Kyivsky District Court of Kharkiv depending on the convict’s
wishes,” the service said.
The court had scheduled its previous hearing of the UESU case for
October 25 but canceled it because of the presiding judge’s illness.
