Ukraine delays ex-PM's trial until after Euro final
Source: Agencies |
June 26, 2012, Tuesday
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A Ukrainian court yesterday adjourned the high-profile tax evasion trial of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko until mid-July.
Western outrage over Tymoshenko's prosecution - which she says is a politically-motivated witch hunt - has already prompted some European politicians to boycott matches at the football championship, the Euro 2012, which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland.
At a hearing in the city of Kharkiv, Judge Kostyantyn Sadovsky adjourned further hearings into the tax evasion case until July 10 at the request of state prosecutors, ordering a medical examination of Tymoshenko, 51, in order to establish whether she is fit to attend her own trial.
Receiving treatment for back trouble in a state-run hospital in the same city, the co-leader of the country's 2004 Orange Revolution has said she is not well enough to be present.
The decision by some politicians to boycott the Ukrainian segment of the football tournament was prompted by a Kiev court, which in October sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in jail for abusing her powers in 2009 as the prime minister, a charge she denied.
The latest case involves tax evasion and embezzlement charges dating to the 1990s.
According to an official list of charges published in the Kommersant Ukraine newspaper yesterday, Tymoshenko's now-defunct gas trading company caused damages equivalent to about US$4 million to the state, while she personally evaded paying US$85,000 in taxes. Twice prime minister, Tymoshenko denies wrongdoing.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, the man she accuses of orchestrating her persecution in revenge for her political opposition to him, has repeatedly said he hopes the Euro 2012 will help boost Ukraine's international image and attract inward investment.
Any fresh legal moves against Tymoshenko during the event would have been certain to attract unwanted publicity and analysts say the court is reluctant to rule until after the championship ends on July 1.
Western outrage over Tymoshenko's prosecution - which she says is a politically-motivated witch hunt - has already prompted some European politicians to boycott matches at the football championship, the Euro 2012, which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland.
At a hearing in the city of Kharkiv, Judge Kostyantyn Sadovsky adjourned further hearings into the tax evasion case until July 10 at the request of state prosecutors, ordering a medical examination of Tymoshenko, 51, in order to establish whether she is fit to attend her own trial.
Receiving treatment for back trouble in a state-run hospital in the same city, the co-leader of the country's 2004 Orange Revolution has said she is not well enough to be present.
The decision by some politicians to boycott the Ukrainian segment of the football tournament was prompted by a Kiev court, which in October sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in jail for abusing her powers in 2009 as the prime minister, a charge she denied.
The latest case involves tax evasion and embezzlement charges dating to the 1990s.
According to an official list of charges published in the Kommersant Ukraine newspaper yesterday, Tymoshenko's now-defunct gas trading company caused damages equivalent to about US$4 million to the state, while she personally evaded paying US$85,000 in taxes. Twice prime minister, Tymoshenko denies wrongdoing.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, the man she accuses of orchestrating her persecution in revenge for her political opposition to him, has repeatedly said he hopes the Euro 2012 will help boost Ukraine's international image and attract inward investment.
Any fresh legal moves against Tymoshenko during the event would have been certain to attract unwanted publicity and analysts say the court is reluctant to rule until after the championship ends on July 1.
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