Eugenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, has said her mother would not make any deals with the regime to secure her release from prison.
"Of course, not. She dedicated her entire political career – more than 15 years – to fighting corruption and for democracy in Ukraine. She was the leader of the Orange Revolution, became an icon of freedom in Ukraine and all over the world. When I travel around the world defending my mother, I meet many politicians and party leaders that respect and listen to me because they respect my mother and what she was doing all this time. They believe and know that she did everything possible in 2009 to protect Ukraine’s interests and continues to do this, despite the humiliation and tortures she must endure in prison," Eugenia Tymoshenko said in an interview with Radio Svoboda.
She stressed that Yulia Tymoshenko was arrested and imprisoned illegally.
"My mother is in prison illegally. She was arrested illegally. Many European leaders and the parliaments of several countries have said that Yulia Tymoshenko’s imprisonment is a political persecution. What Yanukovych should do to remedy the situation is to release all political prisoners," she said.
"Everything my mother is going through – 24-hour video surveillance and lighting that makes it hard for her to sleep, the need to defend herself without a lawyer because they don’t let him into the prison – shows that they’re trying to kill her slowly. They don’t need her right now, especially during preparations for Euro 2012, when Transparency International says that there is lots of corruption in Ukraine. Of course, they don’t need her in the parliamentary elections this autumn. The people will vote for her. Her rating is higher than that of Yanukovych right now by at least 3%," said Eugenia Tymoshenko.
