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Europe court rules Tymoshenko jailing unlawful

Agence France-PresseApril 30, 2013 15:01

The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that Ukraine's detention of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful, in a decision the opposition leader's camp saw as a key step towards her release. Tymoshenko herself said she hoped the decision by the Strasbourg-based court would put paid to the "dirt and black lies" against her. "The court considered that the detention had been arbitrary and unlawful during the entire period," the judges said.

CORRECTED: Europe court rules Tymoshenko jailing 'unlawful'

Agence France-PresseApril 30, 2013 08:46

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Ukraine's detention of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful, in a decision the opposition leader's camp saw as a key step towards her release. "The court considered that the detention had been arbitrary and unlawful during the entire period," the judges of the Strasbourg-based court said. The European Union is mulling a trade and association accord with the ex-Soviet republic and has clearly said it wanted Kiev to release the charismatic Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko's daughter hails EU court ruling as 'first victory'

Agence France-PresseApril 30, 2013 08:16

Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko's daughter Yevgenia hailed Tuesday the European Court of Human Rights' ruling that her mother's detention was unlawful as the "first victory" on the way to her release. "Today we are saying that this is the first victory, the first step to her full political rehabilitation and her immediate release," Yevgenia Tymoshenko told reporters in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that the former prime minister's pre-trial detention was unlawful and politically motivated.

EU rights court says Tymoshenko detention unlawful

Agence France-PresseApril 30, 2013 07:01

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Ukraine's detention of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful but threw out accusations of ill-treatment. "The Court considered that the detention had been arbitrary and unlawful during the entire period," the judges of the Strasbourg-based court said. The judges also found that "the lawfulness of her detention had not been properly reviewed" by the Ukrainian judiciary "and that she had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful deprivation of liberty."

EU puts fresh pressure on Ukraine over Tymoshenko, reforms

Thomson ReutersApril 25, 2013 13:30

KIEV (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of several EU countries gave Ukraine a discouraging report on Thursday on its efforts to deepen ties with the bloc and suggested the jailing of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko remained a serious obstacle. They said agreements on free trade and political association with the European Union were being stymied in particular by cases of "selective justice", a term used by the West to describe the prosecution of rival politicians, including former prime minister Tymoshenko, under President Viktor Yanukovich.

Ukraine's only critical TV station silenced by ownership dispute

Thomson ReutersApril 25, 2013 12:15

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's only television station to air frequent criticism of the government has all but stopped broadcasting fresh content after an ownership dispute and a staff strike. Alexander Altman, a Ukrainian-born U.S. businessman who has in the past worked as an adviser to Ukraine's government, told reporters on Thursday he had taken over the TVi station from Konstantin Kagalovsky, a former executive of the defunct Russian oil giant YUKOS.

Staff strike at Ukraine's opposition TV after takeover

Agence France-PresseApril 24, 2013 09:30

The staff of Ukraine's only staunchly pro-opposition television channel went on strike Wednesday to protest against a sudden change of ownership that they fear will undermine their ability to air criticism of President Viktor Yanukovych. TVi television, which has broadcasted since 2008, is the only channel in Ukraine to delve deep into the country's most sensitive issues, including investigations into high-level corruption and officials' hidden fortunes and tax evasion.

Ukraine opposition calls for Tymoshenko release

Agence France-PresseApril 19, 2013 13:17

Opposition lawmakers in the Ukrainian parliament on Friday called for the release of jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and for the dismissal of the government of her bitter foe President Viktor Yanukovych. "Our political demand is the release of Yulia Tymoshenko and her return to political life," said prominent opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, as his supporters chanted "Free Yulia!" Speaking in parliament, Yatsenyuk said that "Ukraine has a talentless government and a talentless president, who should be forced to step down."

Lithuania's deputy formin, Ukranian ambassador discuss coop

AsianetApril 12, 2013 16:01

On 10 April in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs Neris Germanas met with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Valeriy Zhovtenko to discuss bilateral relations and close cooperation of the two countries within international organizations, Lithuania's MFA said. The meeting discussed the decision of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to pardon jailed former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, a close ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, on April 6.

Thousands rally for Tymoshenko release in Ukraine

Agence France-PresseApril 12, 2013 13:16

More than 5,000 protesters rallied in Kharkiv Friday calling for former premier Yulia Tymoshenko to be released from jail in the first major show of opposition in the eastern Ukrainian city where she is serving her sentence. The protest went ahead despite a local court order banning the demonstration and dozens of public transport vehicles blocking the rally's passage, an AFP journalist on the scene reported.