YALTA, Ukraine -- Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and leader of the United Opposition Arseniy Yatseniuk were denied a meeting with ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in prison, which she has requested.
“She wanted to see me, so we checked all the rules and regulations to see whether it was currently possible,” said Bildt. He said the law allows her a four-hour slot every month to receive visitors.
“But then we were informed by the MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] that it was not possible,” he said. Bildt said when asked for an explanation, the Foreign Ministry said it was the penitentiary service that did not allow the visit.
Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of office in a case that many in the world consider to be a case of political revenge by President Viktor Yanukovych, who defeated her by 3.5 percentage points in the 2010 presidential election.
Arseniy Yatseniuk, who co-chairs the United Opposition Batkivshchyna with Tymoshenko, was also supposed to take part in the meeting. He told the Kyiv Post that he read the letter of response of the penitentiary service and it contained no prohibition for the visit. Nevertheless, the Foreign Ministry referred to their prohibition in their denial.
“I find this out strange because everything was done according to their regulations,” Bildt said.
Kostyantyn Hryshchenko, the foreign ninister, insisted it was the prison authorities who banned the visit, and said he will make an attempt to organize such a visit to Kharkiv, where her colony is located.
“He’s such a good man, why not organize a meeting? If Carl Bildt wants to visit Kharkiv, see a beautiful city, see the most developed institution that he wants to see, then as the Foreign Ministry we will fully support you,” he said.
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected].
