The West lambasts Ukrainian justice after denial of Tymoshenko appeal

The European Union called on Ukraine to address systematic problems in its judiciary, while U.S. and U.K. government representatives expressed “disappointment” with Ukrainian justice. The criticism followed yesterday’s Higher Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases ruling to uphold an October 2011 guilty verdict against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for abuse of office and a seven-year jail term for her role in negotiating a gas supply contract with Russia in 2009. Tymoshenko’s lawyers continued to call the rulings against their client politically motivated and have promised to take the case to the European Court for Human Rights.

Brad Wells: The treatment of Tymoshenko and other leading opposition politicians is continuing to drive a wedge between Ukraine’s relations with the West. The response to yesterday’s ruling was swift and to the point, though there is no reason just yet to believe the Ukrainian government will address these concerns. Given the upcoming parliamentary election, a change of course in the near future is very unlikely. The ECHR is deliberating an appeal from Tymoshenko’s lawyers against her arrest and detention last year; the rejection of her appeal yesterday will allow them to now contest her guilty verdict and sentence to the ECHR. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Ukraine is obliged to implement its rulings, but an ECHR decision on a new case that might free Tymoshenko would take several months to half a year (in the best case). In the meantime, relations between Ukraine and the West look set to remain cool for the foreseeable future.