Member of the European Parliament Charles Tannock (Britain, the European Conservatives and Reformists group) has said he fears that former Ukrainian President (1994-2005) Leonid Kuchma "was sacrificed" to justify the persecution of Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko, and added that all must be equal before Ukrainian law.
Commenting on the situation with the opening of a criminal case against Kuchma, Tannock told Interfax-Ukraine that there was nothing new in the released information.
"We have learned nothing new over the last 10 years, as always these were only suspicions [in relation to Kuchma]. These are not new statements, and as the former president he must be answerable before the law. It is important that justice be equal for all, everybody must be equal before the law – both Yulia Tymoshenko and Leonid Kuchma," he said.
Tannock said he fears that Kuchma "was sacrificed to justify the persecution of Yulia Tymoshenko." The MEP also said he does not rule out that the criminal case could be being used to apply pressure to Kuchma’s son-in-law, Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk.
According to the MEP, some decisions of the judicial system in Ukraine are managed by the government, in particular, the permission given to Tymoshenko to travel to Brussels. Tannock said he has a feeling that this was a political decision taken while pressure was being applied.
