The nation’s chief prosecutor, Viktor Pshonka, on Jan. 18 announced that imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is suspected of organizing the Nov. 3, 1996 murder of Donetsk member of parliament Yevhen Shcherban. The prosecutor said she acted in conspiracy with former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, who Pshonka accused of commissioning the crime. Lazarenko, Ukraine’s prime minister from 1996-1997, is in America after serving a federal prison term for money laundering. If tried and convicted, Tymoshenko could face life in prison. She is serving a seven year sentence for abuse of office.
