Tymoshenko husband attacks Ukraine leader from exile
* Opposition leader serving 7-year jail sentence in Ukraine
* Oleksander Tymoshenko granted asylum in Czech Republic
(Adds Tymoshenko accusing govt over pipeline paras 11-15)
KYIV Jan 10 (Reuters) – The husband of Ukraine’s
jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said on Tuesday
“enormous pressure” and persecution by President Viktor
Yanukovich’s government forced him to flee to the Czech
Republic.
Oleksander Tymoshenko, 51, who was granted political asylum
in the Czech Republic on Jan. 6, said in a statement that by
fleeing abroad he had deprived Yanukovich of additional leverage
over the opposition.
“The regime in Ukraine has not shied away from using dirty
methods. They were not able to break Yulia Tymoshenko either
through intimidation, the courts, imprisonment or torture. So
they resorted to even uglier means. They began to persecute me
and other members of her family,” he said.
“I do not want to provide Yanukovich with any additional
leverage against the opposition and for me political asylum is
the only way to achieve this goal,” he said.
Oleksander Tymoshenko, who is part owner of a business
registered in the Czech Republic, kept a low profile during his
wife’s roller-coaster political career.
Yulia Tymoshenko, a charismatic politician, helped lead the
2004 Orange Revolution street protests which thwarted a first
bid for the presidency by Yanukovich.
She went on to serve two terms as prime minister.
Continued…