Fule: Brussels to closely monitor trial of Tymoshenko in UESU case

STRASBOURG - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule has said the European Commission is planning to closely monitor the court hearings on the criminal case opened against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko due to the activities of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation.

"We will be watching this new trial very closely," he said at a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
In this regard, he also drew attention to "the very public hints and revelations from the Prosecutor General's Office before the trial has even begun do not inspire confidence." In addition, Fule expressed confidence that Ukraine would resolve the question of selective justice, no matter how the upcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine end. "Whatever the results on elections and on reforms, we also expect Ukraine to deliver on the issue of selective justice. Let me repeat - explanations are not enough. The trials of Tymoshenko, Lutsenko, Ivaschenko and others were neither transparent nor fair. They were not conducted according to international standards. There was no impartiality of judges, and there was no equality of arms between prosecution and defense," he said. The commissioner reiterated that such a position by Brussels "is not about personalities or political allegiances, but about a systemic problem." "Whatever the political climate in Ukraine, these reforms require cross-party support if they are to succeed in fixing a systemic problem which will impact on the lives of all Ukrainians. I would like to express my sincere hope that you all will unite in swiftly adopting such fundamental reforms for the rule of law," Fule said. On October 11, 2011, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years of imprisonment for exceeding her authorities when signing 2009 gas contracts with Russia. She has served her sentence at the Kachanivska penal colony since late December 2011. In addition, Kharkiv hosts court hearings on other charges brought against Tymoshenko due to the activity of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation.