* Tymoshenko already sentenced to seven years in prison
* Faces 12 more years if convicted in new court case
* Has dismissed all charges as politically motivated
* French human rights envoy warns Ukraine of isolation
KHARKIV, Ukraine, April 19 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s former
prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko went on trial on Thursday and
faces up to 12 more years in prison if convicted of fresh graft
charges, in a case that once again drew harsh criticism from an
attending Western human rights official.
She refused to attend Thursday’s hearing citing poor health.
A key opponent of President Viktor Yanukovich, Tymoshenko
was sentenced last October to seven years in prison for abusing
her powers as prime minister. The case soured Ukraine’s ties
with the West which saw it as politically motivated.
In the new trial, she is accused of tax evasion, fraud and
attempted theft related to her work as the head of major gas
trading company UES, now defunct, in the 1990s.
Tymoshenko has denied any wrongdoing in both cases,
dismissing them as part of a campaign of repression against the
opposition by Yanukovich’s government.
“There is no doubt that the charges are politically
motivated,” Francois Zimeray, the French ambassador for human
rights, told reporters after attending the hearing in the city
of Kharkiv where Tymoshenko is in prison.
The European Union has warned Ukraine that its members would
not ratify key bilateral agreements on political association and
free trade while Tymoshenko remains in prison.
But Yanukovich has refused to intervene, indicating he could
only pardon Tymoshenko once all trials against her are over.
Ukrainian prosecutors are also investigating Tymoshenko over
what they say was her possible involvement in the 1996 contract
killing of a parliament deputy, a charge she also denies.
Tymoshenko has appealed her first conviction in the European
Court for Human Rights which has not delivered a verdict but has
asked Ukraine to ensure she receives proper medical treatment.
Tymoshenko, 51, has been suffering from back pain for months
due to a herniated spinal disc, her lawyers and family say, and
has trouble walking.
Tymoshenko became famous as a leader of the 2004 Orange
Revolution which doomed Yanukovich’s first bid for presidency.
She has since served twice as prime minister but lost the 2010
presidential vote to Yanukovich in a close race.
After losing power, Tymoshenko and a number of her allies
faced corruption-related charges in what she described as a
crackdown on opposition and what the European Union said were
examples of “selective justice”.
“This is very regrettable because we value highly our
relations with Ukraine,” Zimeray said. “Such cases push the
country into isolation.”
(Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Louise Ireland)
