Tymoshenko trial postponed over health

A Kharkiv district court judge ruled last Saturday to delay a new trial against jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko until May 21 because she could not be tried in absentia and was unable to attend the proceedings due to health problems. Charges in the case were filed by Ukraine’s Security Service in February over the alleged embezzlement of USD 406 mln in state funds by United Energy Systems of Ukraine, a gas trading company headed by Tymoshenko in 1995-1997. She is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence in a Kharkiv penal colony for her role in negotiating a gas supply contract with Russia in 2009; an appeal in that case is scheduled to be heard by a Kyiv court on May 15.

Brad Wells: We caution on viewing the announcement as an indicator of leniency from the government, and believe the move is more about credibility. Tymoshenko’s health, according to her daughter, is deteriorating. She is approaching the second week of a hunger strike, which she began on April 20. So far, Tymoshenko has refused medical treatment in Ukraine while at the same time leading German and Russian politicians have in recent days offered their country’s facilities. Tymoshenko’s hunger strike is clearly forcing a new urgency in her treatment and the government will try to avoid any further adverse turn in her health. In the coming days, the government might reach a compromise, such as allowing Tymoshenko-chosen doctors to treat her, with these international offers a bit less likely as it could open the door for Tymoshenko to claim asylum abroad and escape further prosecution in Ukraine.