UKRAINE: Detained former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko brought back to court while her supporters camp out in central Kiev to show their solidarity

Record ID: 731187

  • Title: UKRAINE: Detained former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko brought back to court while her supporters camp out in central Kiev to show their solidarity
  • Date: 11th August 2011
  • Summary: TYMOSHENKO SUPPORTER IN TENT ENCAMPMENT DRINKING COFFEE TYMOSHENKO SUPPORTERS SITTING IN TENT ENCAMPMENT DRINKING COFFEE VARIOUS OF TYMOSHENKO SUPPORTERS INSIDE TENT (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) PARLIAMENTARY DEPUTY OF YULIA TYMOSHENKO BLOC 'BYUT', ANDRIY SHKIL, SAYING: "We are facing a question of choice - will democracy survive or not? We cannot even imagine how it (democracy) could stop or slow down but the truth is the reversal of democracy started with the arrest of the opposition leader." UKRAINIAN FLAGS AGAINST SHOP WINDOW (DAY SHOTS) TENT ENCAMPMENT AT DAWN VARIOUS OF POLICE BY VANS VARIOUS OF TYMOSHENKO SUPPORTERS BEHIND POLICE BARRIERS POLICE VAN CARRYING TYMOSHENKO ARRIVES AT COURT, DRIVES PAST BARRIERS AND POLICE, SUPPORTERS CHEER POLICE AT BARRIER, WITH PHOTOGRAPHER BEHIND POLICE VAN DRIVING INTO COURT HOUSE YARD TYMOSHENKO SUPPORTERS CHANTING POLICE CORDON POLICE VAN INSIDE COURT HOUSE YARD TYMORSHENKO SUPPORTERS CHANTING CROWD OF TYMOSHENKO SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE COURT WITH 'BYUT' FLAGS
  • Embargoed: 26th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine, Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACZ478CFR4GKKZE4LOMM99SNRR
  • Story Text: Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was brought back to the court in central Kiev on Wednesday (August 10) where she was met by supporters, who rallied around the court building to protest her detention during the trial for alleged abuse of powers in office .
    On Monday Judge Rodion Kireyev rejected requests by Tymoshenko's lawyers to free her from police detention during her trial, when thousands of Tymoshenko's supporters gathered outside the courtroom on Kiev's main thoroughfare, calling for her release.
    Since the trial began at the end of June, Tymoshenko has refused repeatedly to cooperate with Judge Kireyev and denounced him as a 'puppet' of President Viktor Yanukovich, her political opponent. She was placed in police detention last Friday for contempt of court.
    Riot police on Wednesday established barriers to restrain protestors shouting and waving flags at the courthouse entrance as Tymoshenko was transported in an armoured police van hours before the start of proceedings each morning.
    Tymoshenko brought thousands to the streets of Kiev during the 2004 "Orange Revolution" protests, and continues to remain an iconic figure for many in parts of the ex-Soviet republic.
    Andriy Shkil, a parliamentary deputy from Yuluia Tymoshenko's bloc 'Byut', said that the proceedings against Tymoshenko were connected with the fate of democracy in Ukraine:
    "We are facing a question of choice - will democracy survive or not? We cannot even imagine how it (democracy) could stop or slow down but the truth is the reversal of democracy started with the arrest of the opposition leader," Shkil said.
    Since losing narrowly to Yanukovich in a presidential election in February 2010, Tymoshenko has failed to rally other opposition leaders around her. But, with her trademark peasant hair braid and combative style, the 50-year-old Tymoshenko remains the most powerful opposition figure in Ukraine.
    The abuse of office charge against her relates to the signing of a gas supply contract with Russia in 2009 while she was prime minister.
    She denies charges by Ukrainian prosecutors that she coerced state energy company Naftogaz into agreeing to a deal with Russia's Gazprom that was ultimately against the national interest.
    Her detention prompted criticism from the United States - an important backer for Kiev, which is drawing on a multi-billion dollar International Monetary Fund credit arrangement.
    Adding to European Union criticism of her detention, Washington said in a statement that the ruling reinforced the impression that Tymoshenko's trial was politically-motivated.
    In 2001, Tymoshenko spent over a month in prison on tax evasion and corruption charges after falling out with then-president Leonid Kuchma but was acquitted in a trial.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register