The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office expects that the Kyiv Appeals Court will hand down a "foreseeable" ruling on an appeal by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko against her conviction under a criminal case dealing with the 2009 Ukrainian-Russian gas supply contracts, Ukrainian First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin said on Inter television channel on Friday. He also voiced hope that more convictions against Ukraine's former Prime Minister would follow.
"We [the Prosecutor General’s Office] have received the appeal, and state prosecutors are studying its substantiation. On the whole, we hope for quite a foreseeable decision," Kuzmin said.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine hopes that Tymoshenko will be also convicted under other criminal cases, Kuzmin added.
"These cases have not fallen apart. They have been finished, and they are being examined. Yulia Volodymyrivna [Tymoshenko] and her lawyers are examining these cases. By the way, [Tymoshenko’s] lawyer [Serhiy] Vlasenko has not appeared to examine the cases. They are in the main investigative office, and after the defendant and her defense lawyers examine the cases, they will be submitted for consideration by court, and I hope that we will get a verdict on these cases too," he said, while commenting on criminal cases opened by the Prosecutor General’s Office against Tymoshenko regarding funds received under the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the purchase of ambulances.
As reported, apart from the case involving gas contracts signed with Russia in 2009, the Prosecutor General’s Office opened two other criminal cases against Tymoshenko: one involving the misuse of funds that Ukraine received under the Kyoto Protocol, and another involving the purchase of ambulances for rural hospitals.
The investigation into the criminal cases connected with the Kyoto money and ambulance purchases were suspended pending the end of the "gas case," but they could be restarted if the court issues a relevant order.
A new criminal case has also been opened against Tymoshenko on charges of reassigning the United Energy Systems of Ukraine corporation’s debts to the Ukrainian budget.
Kyiv’s Pechersky Court found Tymoshenko guilty of abuse of office in concluding the said gas contracts with Russia and sentenced her to seven years in prison on October 11. Tymoshenko and her lawyers have appealed the sentence. The ex-prime minister’s conviction has drawn criticism from the leaders and policymakers of most Western countries.
