Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said the criminal case against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko might be reviewed once the parliament passes a bill overhauling the Criminal Procedure Code.
“I am a supporter of reviewing all these cases (against members of the opposition). Perhaps reviewing them from the standpoint of the new Criminal Procedure Code, which will have all the European standards,” Yanukovych said on Friday during an interview with Ukrainian television.
Yanukovych and his team have faced mounting criticism over Tymoshenko's prosecution from Western countries. Two weeks ago, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said in Kiev that the Tymoshenko case could jeopardize the finalization of a Ukraine-EU association agreement.
Tymoshenko was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2011 for overreaching her authority in signing a gas deal with Russia in 2009. The deal obliged Ukraine to buy larger amounts of gas than it now needs, and at higher prices than it says is fair. Ukraine has since consistently sought revision of the deal.
Tymoshenko’s supporters claim her health has deteriorated since her pre-trial detention began in August 2011 and that she is no longer able to walk due to back problems.
Tymoshenko is currently battling fresh charges of financial wrongdoing during her tenure as head of United Energy Systems of Ukraine in the 1990s.
