Courtroom drama
June 24, 2011
Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko denounced her corruption trial in Kyiv on Friday as an attempt by incumbent President Viktor Yanukovych to silence the political opposition.
"Yanukovych is a coward," Tymoshenko told reporters. "He is afraid of political competition and the opposition."
Tymoshenko helped lead the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution that sank Yanukovych's first presidential bid. Yanukovych, however, subsequently defeated Tymoshenko in the 2010 presidential elections.
The former prime minister is accused of abusing power to secure a 2009 gas deal with Russia's Gazprom.
According to the charges, Tymokshenko forced the head of Ukraine's Naftogaz to sign the Gazprom deal without consulting her own government. The gas deal ended a price dispute between Ukraine and Russia that had led to supplies being cut to Western Europe.
Officials in Yanukovych's administration denounced the deal as a "sellout," although his government continues to observe the agreement with Russia.
If Tymoshenko is convicted, she will face between seven to 10 years in prison, which would effectively torpedo her ability to take part in the 2012 parliamentary polls and the presidential elections in 2015.
"They want to put me in prison, but that will not help them," Tymoshenko said. "My voice will be stronger from prison than it is now and the world will hear it."
Courtroom drama
The pre-trial hearing was plagued by sweltering heat and occasional disruptions as Tymoshenko supporters chanted slogans through loud speakers at the overcrowded courtroom.
"Shame, shame on the entire Ukraine," some supporters shouted.
Tymoshenko verbally attacked Judge Rodion Kyreyev, saying he was unfit to handle her case.
"At such an important for Ukraine, I do not want in that chair a judge like you," Tymoshenko said. "I am throwing down this objection to you because I consider you a puppet of the presidential administration."
Tymoshenko, who is known for theatrics, crossed herself before the pre-trial hearing began and took out a copy of the constitution as well as a prayer book and a small icon.
Although Western governments have not publicly taken her side, diplomats say visiting EU politicians have told Yanukovych that they were concerned about "selective justice."
"This looks a little bit like justice but not like justice seen in European countries," one diplomat told the news agency AFP.
Author: Spencer Kimball (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Susan Houlton