A beleaguered President Viktor Yanukovych is having to make up his mind. While he did not have his face slapped publicly in the US, Inform is advised that US officials made it very clear to the head of state that imprisoning opposition figures will not to be tolerated. Europe has already delivered a stiff rebuke, saying that if Mr Yanukovych wants an EU Association Agreement with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), he will have to not only free Ms Tymoshenko and other officials from her former government, held in detention on politically motivated charges, but allow them to participate in political life as well.
The face-saving escape plan for Mr Yanukovych is for him to cancel the Soviet-era Criminal Procedure Code which dates back to the early 1960s, which would mean that Ms Tymoshenko’s prosecution should no longer take place. Another option is to pardon her, although strictly speaking it is she
The timing of any collapse of the Tymoshenko case could be crucial as the trial reopens only two days before the EU Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw on 29 September. Furthermore, if Ukraine harbours any hope of concluding the DCFTA at the EU-Ukraine summit, on 14-16 December in Kyiv, the plight of Ms Tymoshenko, former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and others must be resolved at the soonest opportunity.
Štefan Füle, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, said, “Through my close contacts with Ukrainian counterparts, I am convinced that the Ukrainian leaders have understood the gravity of the situation, and are able to turn things around, and choose a different track.”
Meanwhile there are reports that Ms Tymoshenko’s health is suffering. Last week she was running a temperature and complaining of a sore throat. According to press reports, her cell is in the darkest section of the detention centre and located next to an area where detainees with tuberculosis are being held.
Source: BYuT–Batkivshchyna
who must ask for a pardon; but as the former premier is not guilty of any crime she is understandably loathed to do so. But legal niceties have never troubled Mr Yanukovych in the past who has adopted a steamroller approach to any legal hurdles, such as the Constitution, that he doesn’t like. He therefore has a number of options.