Kharkiv – Yulia Abaplova, a former cellmate of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, has said that the ex-prime minister is using her for promotion.
“As for recent statements by Ms. Tymoshenko, I want to say that, yes, I wrote this statement [made public by Tymoshenko’s defense lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko], but it was dictated to me by Ms. Tymoshenko. They just used it. They used it then, and they are using it now. And I understand they will use it in future, which is very convenient. It’s easy to hold a campaign at the expense of ordinary people… If they deal with politics, let them do it without people who are serving their terms in prison,” Abaplova told reporters in the Kachanivska penal colony (Kharkiv) on Wednesday.
She denied that she had agreed to give a video interview under the pressure of the prison staff and after spending nearly five months in solitary confinement.
“As you see, I’m alive, I’m not sick, and I think I look fine. Therefore, what was said, that I was in a solitary confinement or somewhere else, does not reflect reality. The last interview that I gave was ordered by me. I asked the leadership to allow me to meet with journalists so that I could talk and comment on the current situation. Everything is true in the interview that was given. Nobody pressurized me or kicked me with their feet. This can be seen from my appearance,” Abaplova said.
