And for what? Because she, in her capacity as the leader of the government at the time, didn’t properly negotiate a lower price for Russian natural gas exports.
You don’t have to be a fan of Tymoshenko to know that this trumped-up charge amounts to political revenge designed to get rid of her.
The absurdity of the charges, the trial, the verdict and sentence stunned many in the West who still hold on to the illusion of a democratic Ukraine trying to integrate into the civilized family of nations and European Union.
But hope can be found in this seemingly hopeless situation.
The truth is that the nation’s judicial system – from top to bottom – is broken, corrupt and manipulated by oligarch-controlled politicians, chief among them President Viktor Yanukovych.
Police still beat, torture, falsify evidence and extract false confessions. They conduct armed raids with masks with the permission of these manipulated courts.
Prosecutors operate in a web of secrecy in which they are accountable to no one but the chief prosecutor, who is appointed by Yanukovych.
Judges cannot exercise independence for fear of losing their jobs – or worse.
You don’t have to be a fan of Tymoshenko to know that this trumped-up charge amounts to political revenge designed to get rid of her.
The presumption of guilt replaces the presumption of innocence through the pre-trial jailing of suspects for up to 18 months in horrible conditions, the denial of bail and adequate legal representation, the denial of speedy trial by jury and so on.
These are all hallmarks of authoritarians who cannot let go of their control over decisions – from criminal verdicts to elections.
Those in power are increasingly walling themselves off from the people they serve by living in luxury mansion villas, heavily guarded by security.
The overwhelming show of police officers – more than 1,000 easily – is another manifestation of this penchant for force.
It shows that the Yanukovych administration is behaving like most authoritarians: They are afraid of their own people, so they ramp up police forces, deny permits for peaceful protests and throttle dissenting voices by hook or by crook.
Yanukovych has shown, with his highly prejudicial statements involving Tymoshenko, that he hasn’t a clue about basic legal concepts of probable cause, presumption of innocence and guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The only ray of hope to cling to is the cascade of international condemnation combined with Yanukovych’s belated acknowledgement that the 1962 Soviet criminal code may not be suited for 2011 Ukraine, with its byzantine, barbaric procedures and highly amorphous criminal charges such as “hooliganism” and “abuse of office.”
If the Yanukovych administration is committed to the nation’s best future, and that is still open to debate, it will let experts craft a Ukrainian judicial system after the best elements of democracies.
There are many models to choose from in the West. He will also find a way to release Tymoshenko. The choices are clear.
