Human rights activist Eduard Bahirov has said that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych may sign a decree pardoning former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko within three days.
“I can say that Yulia Tymoshenko could be freed within 72 hours. There are all of the legal mechanisms and legitimate grounds for that,” he said at a press conference on Monday.
He said that the Constitution of Ukraine defines the powers of the country’s president, among which is his right to pardon people in Ukraine.
“The president has the right to pardon any citizen of Ukraine who committed an offense and is serving his prison term under a court ruling. This is his right,” Bahirov said.
The human rights activist added that the provision on pardons in Ukraine had been approved by a presidential decree.
Bahirov said that this provision determines the conditions under which people can be pardoned. The document also defines the rules for filing and considering pardon applications.
He noted that since the Constitution of Ukraine is the supreme law in Ukraine, a presidential decree is lower in terms of legal significance.
He said that President Viktor Yanukovych needs 72 hours to sign such a decree.
He also expressed confidence that the president would in fact release Tymoshenko.
