Tymoshenko’s Husband Accuses Kyiv Of Seeking To ‘Physically Destroy’ His Wife

PRAGUE — Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of imprisoned former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, says he was forced to seek political asylum in the Czech Republic because of pressure from what he called the “authoritarian regime” of President Viktor Yanukovych.

“The authorities do not shy away from any dirty methods,” he told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service in an interview in Prague on January 9. “They were not successful in breaking Yulia Tymoshenko by intimidation, courts, imprisonment, or torture. Therefore, they used even dirtier tricks.

“They started to persecute me and other members of her family. I do not want to give them more leverage to use against the leader of the opposition. For me, political asylum was the only way to reach this goal.”

He said the authorities seek to “physically destroy” his wife by not providing her with adequate medical care.

He said the world needs to understand that the “Yanukovych regime does not need Yulia Tymoshenko alive.”

Oleksandr Tymoshenko urged European countries to impose sanctions against the authorities in Kyiv and on their families, in particular the sons of Yanukovych, the top authorities in the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the SBU security services, and the “judges and investigators who facilitated the falsification of Yulia Tymoshenko’s case.”

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko with Oleksandr in January 2010Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko with Oleksandr in January 2010
​​”World leaders have to finally understand that Yanukovych and democracy are mutually exclusive notions,” he said.

Yulia Tymoshenko, 51, was convicted last year and sentenced to seven years in jail for abuse of office while she was prime minister.

She is currently incarcerated at the Kachanivska Penal Colony No. 54 in the eastern town of Kharkiv. Her lawyer says the former prime minister is suffering sleep deprivation and profound stress in a cell that is kept brightly lit and under 24-hour surveillance.

The United States and the European Union have denounced her trial as politically motivated and have urged that she be released.