EU leaders urge Tymoshenkos release, Ukraine rights lawyer says not soon

European leaders praised Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Apr. 8 for releasing former Internal Affairs Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, but not without stating they’d like to see the same fate for former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said Lutsenko’s release reflects the spirit of the ruling reached by the European Court for Human Rights on his illegal arrest, adding that he hopes Ukraine will follow through on the Court’s ruling on Tymoshenko. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Chair Jean-Claude Mignon said he hopes Yanukovych’s pardon is a sign of the Ukrainian government abandoning its approach of applying selective justice. The Ukrainian government should resolve Tymoshenko’s imprisonment in accordance with Council of Europe principles and reformits legal system so that such incidents don’t repeat themselves, Mignon said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Valeria Lutkovska said she would not submit a pardon request on Tymoshenko’s behalf, as she had done for Lutsenko, because the former prime minister still faces court proceedings, whereas Lutsenko’s judicial affairs had concluded last week with the rejection of his final appeal. She acknowledged that Yanukovych’s decision was influenced by the mission led by former European Parliament President Pat Cox and former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. In a television interview on Apr. 8, Lutsenko said he’s confident Tymoshenko will be released before the end of her seven-year prison sentence, which concludes in 2018.

Zenon Zawada: Yuriy Lutsenko doesn’t pose nearly the same political threat to Yanuokvych as Tymoshenko, which is why he was released as a concession to EU leaders. MPs of the ruling Party of Regions were openly admitting on Apr. 8 that they’re hoping Lutsenko’s renewed presence in Ukrainian politics will overshadow the other opposition leaders and sow conflict among them. While Lutsenko said he won’t compete for the presidency in 2015, he didn’t rule out campaigning for the Kyiv mayorship, which already adds intrigue to Ukraine’s opposition. Lutsenko’s release also succeeded in diverting the West’s attention from the bigger event last week, which was parliament failing to designate the Kyiv City Council and mayoral elections for June.

On all these fronts, Lutsenko’s release brought significant dividends to the Yanukovych administration, far greater than Tymoshenko’s release would bring. So the aim of Lutsenko’s release is quite the opposite than what Western leaders are calling for: the Yanukovych administration is hoping it will relieve pressure from the EU to arrange for Tymoshenko’s release.

Therefore, we don’t believe she will be released before the next presidential election, which means the EU leadership will have to sign the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement with her in prison. The legal justification for this was provided by the human rights ombudsman Lutkovska, who has argued that nothing can be arranged until all the court proceedings against her conclude. Tymoshenko still faces two criminal cases as a defendant, Lutkovska said, suggesting that her court proceedings can last for many years.