A lawyer for Ukraine's jailed former premier Yulia Tymoshenko is accusing top Ukrainian government officials of pressuring the courts in criminal cases against her.
Tymoshenko, the
nation’s top opposition leader, is serving a seven-year sentence on
charges of abuse of office, which the West has condemned as politically
motivated. She also is the target of several other investigations,
including a tax evasion trail set to start next week.
Lawyer
Oleksandr Plakhotnyuk said Thursday that recent statements by President
Viktor Yanukovych and a deputy prosecutor who linked Tymoshenko to the
murder of a businessman 16 years ago are meant to push the judge to rule
against Tymoshenko. Plakhotnyuk called that allegation “nothing else
than pressure on the courts.”
Top EU leaders are boycotting Euro 2012 matches hosted in Ukraine over Tymoshenko.
