… Perhaps I ought to begin with the sad and amazing words taken from the Internet petition to free my mother, filed by Bishop Paul Peter Jesep, where he quoted the French thinker Montesquieu, and it says, “There is no greater tyranny, than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.”

My mother has been illegally imprisoned, maltreated and humiliated for six months by the regime which is trying to break her. This didn’t break her. Her spirits are high, I can say that emphatically, but her health is failing. When I see her I must lift her from her bed; she can barely walk. Yet she still works, and not only to fight all the legal mud that is being thrown at her, but to unify all of Ukraine’s democratic forces to challenge President Viktor Yanukovych and the repressive clan that rules with him.

My mother went into politics and put on her small shoulders the great task to free her country of injustice, absence of rule of law and corruption left from Soviet past, so that we, young Ukrainians, would not need to devote our lives to do the same. She, unlike many young entrepreneurs in newly independent Ukraine, managed to build a big, successful corporation that helped restore the lost production and trade ties between ex-Soviet states. By doing that she uncovered most major failures of the old system. One of the major failures was and now remains – corruption. She chose to go against the system, refused to be part of corrupt schemes and, ended up facing the system alone, letting it destroy her business, putting her, her family and friends behind bars and again on falsified charges.

Ten years ago, when my mother was vice prime minister for the energy sector, she managed to remove corruption in oil, electricity and gas trading and restored financial functioning in this sector. When the country’s leadership resisted her reform efforts she organized massive protest movements. These protests later grew into the [2004] Orange Revolution, which she helped to lead and supported a person for president she believed would lead the country into democratic victory.

While prime minister, even though she had limited control but big responsibilities, she fought for major reforms and country’s well-being. After she had removed the gas trading monopolist RosUkrEnergo she became enemy number one, to those who were trying to monopolize the energy market and who are in power now. She ended up illegally imprisoned, convicted and tortured for not playing by the rules of their game, not complying with their orders that were detrimental to Ukraine.

…I have no doubts that the verdict against my mother was sought and approved by President Vikotr Yanukovych. She is, according to recent polls, his main political opponent and more popular than him.

But I don’t want you to think that this is only about my mother. It is not. Others are being repressed and unjustly imprisoned. Unfortunately Ukraine turns into an authoritarian regime with leaders of the opposition sitting in jail.

…Yanukovych and his team are trying to do everything possible to charge my mother with corruption. They hope the smallest hint of corruption will confuse Western politicians and make them turn their back on Ukraine and on her. And that’s what Yanukovych’s administration is trying to achieve. They spent millions of US dollars hiring American audit companies in hoping they can find traces of her corruption. Hundreds of her ex-co-workers were summoned for questioning. They were looking hard, but never found anything and they never will.

The current government’s activities are not only ruining the image of Ukraine, and Ukraine as a united nation, but also the profitable sectors of the economy, that become paralyzed and eventually abandoned, when the rule of law is ignored. Successful people prefer to leave Ukraine and our population is declining.

…I am here today to answer your questions … but also to plead that America do all that it can to preserve democracy in my country. My mother’s plight has united many great, strong nations and amazing people, true heroes of our time who are trying to get her and other political prisoners out of jail. We are hoping for your support. It is paramount for Ukraine to have free and fair elections this fall, but it would be impossible without major opposition leaders.

… The enemies of democracy and freedom should not be welcome in a democratic society unless they correct their mistakes. I ask you to consider all possible ways to influence them and to explain to them the consequences of their actions. But most of all, I ask you to speak out, loudly and clearly, so that the people of my country do not feel abandoned and lose hope.

Eugenia Tymoshenko’s full testimony can be read at https://archive.kyivpost.com/news/opinion/op_ed/detail/121742/