You're reading: Canadian observers note obvious political motives behind imprisonment of Tymoshenko and Lutsenko

Canadian observers have said the parliamentary election campaign in Ukraine is being conducted on the background of the politically motivated imprisonment of opposition leaders Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko.

“These elections are taking place in the context of the obviously politically motivated conviction and imprisonment of the opposition leaders, who cannot participate in the elections – former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko,” reads the second interim report of the Canadian mission, which was presented at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.

The observers recalled that the Canadian government had previously called on the Ukrainian authorities to release Tymoshenko and Lutsenko.