The actions of former Ukrainian Prime Minister and Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko suggest that she is deliberately delaying the investigative procedures in a criminal case opened against her concerning her exceeding her authority and abusing office in signing gas contracts in 2009, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) said on Thursday.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said that said Tymoshenko and her lawyer had again been summoned to the main department for the investigation of particularly important cases for 1000 on Thursday in order to bring charges against the former prime minister. However, she appeared without her lawyer and said that she would not participate in investigative procedures. The Prosecutor General’s Office recalled that on Wednesday, April 27, Tymoshenko and her lawyer had disrupted the holding of investigative procedures.
"After the investigator attempted to explain to her the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code, which regulates the holding of investigative procedures with the participation of lawyers, Yulia Tymoshenko left the building of the Prosecutor General’s Office without the permission of the investigator," the press service said.
Such actions, according to the prosecutor’s office, indicate that Tymoshenko "is deliberately delaying the investigation of the case and is deliberately ignoring the procedural decisions of the investigator."
In this connection, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said it was obliged to remind Tymoshenko that travel restrictions had been imposed on her as a measure of restraint.
"If this measure does not ensure the fulfillment of procedural decisions, it can be changed into a more severe one in accordance with the requirements of the law," the press service said.
Tymoshenko and her lawyer have been summoned to the Prosecutor General’s Office at 1600 on April 29.
In April 2011, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office opened a third criminal case against Tymoshenko concerning her exceeding her authority and abusing office in signing gas contracts in 2009. The case was opened under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It has been claimed that the actions of the former premier caused losses to the state worth Hr 1.5 billion.
