EU MP: Tymoshenko's Verdict is Justified

KYIV, Ukraine, October 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The member of the European Parliament Alexander Mirsky stated that European citizens and some members of the European Parliament misinterpret the current situation in Ukraine, reports Ukrinform. According to the Latvian parliamentarian, the lack of information on Ukraine bred rumors about political motivation of the trial of the former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko. Alexander Mirsky emphasized that Ukraine's judicial bodies had built the case against Tymoshenko based on real abuse.

The parliamentarian noted that many see the Tymoshenko case as a story of a woman-fighter for democracy and justice who was jailed for political reasons but not for her criminal deeds. Alexander Mirsky shared his opinion that European politicians have limited knowledge about Ukraine and its legal system and judge the domestic affairs of Ukraine by the standards set in other countries.

The European politician also noted that he liked the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which was comprehensible and clear, if unaggressive. The EU countries themselves need to be asked questions about corruption, suggested Alexander Mirsky. The MP reckoned that Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Greece faced high levels of corruption whereas in Ukraine the level of democracy development was more advanced than in many European countries.

The gas case against Yulia Tymoshenko was open in April 2011. On October 11, 2011, she was found guilty of abuse of office, specifically - the signing of the unfavorable for Ukraine gas contract with Russia. The court decided that the gas deal inflicted damages of almost USD 190 million to the state budget of Ukraine. According to the court verdict, Yulia Tymoshenko has to repay the losses, serve the time, and refrain from holding public office for three years.

While serving as a Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko negotiated and signed gas contract with Russia that regulated the prices for gas import as well as the transit prices for the Russian gas. As a result, Ukraine now pays a higher gas price than, for example, Germany and is a subject to the mandatory annual gas purchase quota - the so-called take-or-pay system. Should Ukraine decide to decrease its gas consumption it is still required to pay for the gas it did not take, whereas Russia has no ship-or-pay obligations.