Europe Court: Tymoshenko Jailing Was Rights Abuse

[Time]

(KIEV, Ukraine)  — Ukraine's jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was a politically motivated violation of her rights, Europe's human rights court ruled on Tuesday, dealing a harsh blow to President Viktor Yanukovych who has insisted that the case against his top opponent was not political. The prosecution of Tymoshenko, the country's most vocal opposition leader, has strained the former Soviet state's ties with the European Union and the United States. Tuesday's ruling put fresh pressure of Yanukovych to ensure Tymoshenko's release if he wants to sign a key cooperation agreement with Brussels later this year. There was no immediate comment from the government, other than a promise to closely analyze the ruling. (More: Despite International Outcry, Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko May Face Even More Jail Time) Tymoshenko, a heroine of Ukraine's 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution who was instantly recognizable her blond braid wrapped around her head like a crown, was sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2011 after being convicted of exceeding her powers as premier while negotiating a gas contract with Russia. The West has condemned Tymoshenko's jailing and other legal cases against her as politically motivated and insisted on her release. Tymoshenko has accused Yanukovych of masterminding the legal campaign against her to keep her out politics. She insists her rights were violated when she was first jailed in August 2011 during her trial on charges of contempt of court. The Strasbourg-based court agreed unanimously that her jailing was "for other reasons" than those permissible by law. In Kiev, Tymoshenko's defense team called on Yanukovych to honor the ruling and free her from jail soon. Her daughter Eugenia said that the ruling will be like the "first ray of sunlight" for her mother who is undergoing treatment for a spinal condition in a hospital ward where windows are shut and draped. "The European court has recognized my mom as a political prisoner and now the authorities in Ukraine will no longer be able to deny this and deny the fact that she must be freed in

Via: TIME GlobalSpin

[Folami David]

Well if it was rights abuse or not, we'll know as time goes by. Let's just hope justice will prevail at the end of the day