Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament representing the Group of the European People's Party, has said that a criminal case opened against Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko is politically motivated.
"I’m shocked. I have to say that this is an attempt to use legal procedures to weaken the opposition, and this was done the day before the opposition leader wanted to meet with the leaders of the European Union – it’s unbelievable. I’ve rarely heard about this kind of thing," he said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists in Brussels on Thursday, while commenting on the case opened against Tymoshenko.
Brok said that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych "has not understood the message that unilateral actions against the opposition are unacceptable and are not in line with the law of democracy."
He also agreed that this case was purely political.
"I think so. There is no evidence [of Tymoshenko’s guilt]. This was done only against opposition politicians, and the fact that this happened the day before the [party’s] summit is unbelievable," he said.
As reported, the European People’s Party is holding a summit in Brussels. It is expected that after the summit it will make a statement on the situation in Ukraine, particularly with regard to the criminal case brought against Tymoshenko.
