Ukrainian parliamentarian (the Party of Regions faction) and member of the Parliamentary Committee for Legal Policy Vladyslav Zabarsky said he is certain that the verdict against ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will be a signal to all officials about imminent punishment for abuse of office.
"A precedent has been set for Ukraine, when a high-ranking official was prosecuted and convicted for her unlawful actions. Ukraine has not seen anything like that before," the politician said on Tuesday, commenting on the verdict issued by the Pechersky District Court in Kyiv.
He was quoted by the Party of Regions’ press office.
It is a signal to officials that by abusing their office they break the law and the punishment will be imminent, regardless of their political allegiance, Zabarsky said.
"The verdict in the Yulia Tymoshenko case will come into effect either after the deadline for submitting an appeal expires, or after the decision is made by the court of appeal. Today, one can say with confidence that the defense team of the former prime minister will certainly appeal against the verdict with the court of appeal. And the court of appeal will check how lawfully the judge acted in making this decision and whether the investigation of the defense and prosecution arguments was objective and comprehensive," he said.
It was reported that on Tuesday Tymoshenko was found guilty of violations in signing the 2009 gas agreements with Russia and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.
