EU, U.S. officials raise concern over Vlasenko hearing

Both the EU and U.S. diplomatic officials issued statements on March 5 expressing concern over the current legal proceedings against Serhiy Vlasenko, the defense attorney for imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. A Kyiv court is currently hearing a complaint filed by Parliamentary Chair Volodymyr Rybak requesting that Vlasenko’s parliamentary mandate be stripped, allegedly because his professional duties are interfering with his parliamentary responsibilities. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule issued a joint statement calling upon the Ukrainian government to resolve the situation so as to avoid “creating any impression of abusing the court system for political goals.” The U.S. State Department issued a more strongly worded statement, saying Vlasenko’s potential eviction “as it seems is politcally motivated because of his ties to Tymoshenko.” The statement called upon the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych to end “politically motivated persecution of opposition leaders and to fulfill international obligations of rule of law and democracy.”