Tymoshenko says she cannot attend hearings of UESU case in Kharkiv for … – NRCU
Tymoshenko says she cannot attend hearings of UESU case in Kharkiv for health reasons, demands transportation to Kyiv for interrogations on Scherban case
22-03-2013 15:49
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko cannot attend hearings of the UESU case for health reasons, but she is ready to agree to her transportation to Kyiv to participate in the questioning of witnesses in the case on the murder of MP Yevhen Scherban, according to a statement that was read out by her defence counsel, Serhiy Vlasenko.
“Since the issue concerns senseless charges against me of murder, with which I have nothing to do, I’m ready, despite the threat to my health, to agree to my transportation to Kyiv, since the court refuses to postpone the questioning of witnesses and conducts [interrogations] in my absence, citing a falsified act of the Kachanivska penal colony regarding my alleged refusal to be taken to Kyiv. Given the above, I note that my health doesn’t allow me to be present at the hearing to be held on March 22 in the Kyivsky District Court of Kharkiv, in accordance with Article 249 of the 1960 Criminal Code of Ukraine,” reads a statement addressed to Judge Kostiantyn Sadovsky, which was read out by the former prime minister’s defense counsel at the hearing of the UESU case on Friday. The statement also says that Tymoshenko is demanding that she be taken to all hearings on the questioning of witnesses in the Scherban murder case. “I’m demanding, despite my difficult health condition, my transportation to all hearings on the questioning of witnesses in a trumped-up case on the murder of Yevhen Scherban, given the seriousness of fraudulent charges and the desire of the regime, under any circumstances, to illegally and unfoundedly sentence me to life imprisonment,” reads the statement. Vlasenko said that this statement had been passed to the judge through the Kachanivska penal colony on Thursday evening and expressed surprise at a statement made by Judge Sadovsky that the court hearing was delayed for 15 minutes due to the fact that the State Penitentiary Service did not inform the court on time about the absence of the defendant. State prosecutor Viktoria Kalyta, in turn, said that such a position was a sign of the former prime minister’s contempt of court. “She won’t go to court in Kyiv, and she won’t appear in Kharkiv court. This statement means that the defendant expresses clear contempt of court and for the law, and this is fiercely criticized by the European community,” she said. As reported, on March 22, 2013, the Kyivsky District Court of Kharkiv held another hearing of the case on the financial irregularities of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation, which was headed by Tymoshenko in 1995-1996. At the same time, the court hearing was adjourned until April 12. “The court decided that it is impossible to consider the case in the absence of defendant Yulia Tymoshenko and her defense counsel Yevhenia Tymoshenko. The court hearing is adjourned until 1600 on April 12,” Judge Sadovsky said.