Court upholds second detention order against Yulia Tymoshenko

The Kyiv Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld the decision by the Shevchenkivsky District Court to remand her in custody over new charges brought against her. These allege embezzlement of public funding through the company United Energy Systems of Ukraine and the case is being run by the Security Service [SBU]. 

The court apparently cleared the courtroom of reporters before reading out their ruling. As reported , the “court hearing” took place on 8 December in the SIZO or detention centre where former Prime Minister and leader of the Batkivshchyna Party, Yulia Tymoshenko has been held since early August over the “gas charges”.  Following the SBU’s application for her to be arrested over the new charges, the court, and specifically Judge Andriy Trubnikov rejected the defence’s request for the hearing to be postponed due to Ms Tymoshenko’s poor health and decided to hold it in Ms Tymoshenko’s cell. 

This “court hearing” was thus held in secret with neither MPs nor journalists allowed to be present.  According to media reports, after an almost 12 hour session, the Judge issued the relevant order choosing detention as the restraint measure against Yulia Tymoshenko

Ms Tymoshenko was sentenced by Judge Kireyev over the gas agreement with Russia in January 2009 to 7 years imprisonment in October and the appeal against that ruling is presently underway.

The conviction and sentence was condemned as politically motivated by all democratic countries. Within two days new charges were brought up and old criminal investigations reinstated.

The decision from the Appeal Court was reported by Interfax Ukraine