A state prosecutor asked Oleksandr Mykytenko a court to detain Ukraine's former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, on Wednesday during a trial on charges that she abused her post during her term.
Speaking at Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, the prosecutor said that taking into account the repeated attempts by Tymoshenko to delay and obstruct the proceedings on the Russian gas supply contract case against her, the prosecution asked the court to consider placing the defendant in custody, Tymoshenko’s official website reads.
The court earlier imposed travel restrictions on Tymoshenko to enforce her presence in the courtroom.
The prosecutor explained his request by numerous reprimands the judge had issued to Tymoshenko during the hearings and what he described as her attempts to procrastinate and obstruct the trial.
Tymoshenko replied to this by saying that "this would be the last step toward exterminating the opposition. If this is done, well, it’s going to be exciting." Rodion Kyreyev has turned down her motion requesting a three-day recess in the trial to find new defense attorneys.
"The defendant has repeatedly dismissed her lawyers on farfetched grounds," Kyreyev said.
He also said Tymoshenko was abusing her right to defense.
The judge said that, having heard Tymoshenko’s reasons and the prosecutor’s opinion, he decided to decline her motion.
After that, Tymoshenko immediately said she wanted to challenge the judge for depriving her of the right to defense.
Kyreyev ignored her statement, continued the hearings and asked the secretary to invite the next witness to the courtroom.
In response to this, parliamentarians supporting Tymoshenko and attending the hearings put on surgical masks on which the word ‘shame’ was written.
Tymoshenko has dismissed all charges against her as politically motivated and Western governments have expressed concern over her case.
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