A Kyiv District Administrative Court has banned all protests outside the Pechersk District Court, where ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is being tried, and Lukyanivska jail, where she is being held on contempt-of-court charges.
The court made this decision overnight Saturday, ruling in favor of a motion filed by Kyiv City State Administration, the press service of Tymoshenko’s party reported.
On Saturday evening, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Pechersk court, where more than 20 tents have been erected, and about a hundred of people were protesting near Lukianivska jail.
In its decision, the court banned rallies at: Khreshchatyk 44 (Pechersk court) and Dehtyarivska 13 (Lukyanivska).
However, the court did not forbid members of parliament from holding receptions of citizens in makeshift tents, set up near the court, according to Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko deputy Sergei Pashynsky.
Pashynsky also said that Tymoshenko’s party will appeal this decision as an unconstitutional infringement of the right of citizens to peacefully assemble.
Tymoshenko was arrested in the courtroom on Aug. 5 and the trial against her resumes on Aug. 8. She faces charges of illegally reaching a 2009 gas deal with Russia to end a three-week shutoff of supplies that affected much of Europe.
Russia says the 2009 gas agreement was legal.
Tymoshenko says the accusations against her are part of President Viktor Yanukovych’s attempt to convict her of a felony so that she is barred from future elections. Yanukovych denies any involvement in the criminal charges against his top rival, who came within 3.5 percentage points of beating him in the 2010 presidential election.
