Partial pardon for Yulia Tymoshenko will result in loss of civil rights for three years and obligation to pay a fine of about 200 million US dollars. Such interpretation of the compromise option for the resolving of Tymoshenko case was suggested by Member of the European Parliament Marek Siwiec. “Based on the current Ukrainian legislation, the president has a right to grant partial pardon for Tymoshenko. Partial pardon means reducing her sentence of seven years in prison by half. Due to the fact that the former prime minister has already served more than a half of her term, there will be reasons for her early parole. However, Tymoshenko will have to pay a fine of about 200 million US dollars and will be deprived of civil rights for three years,” the politician wrote in his blog. “The key to the success of Cox-Kwasniewski mission is the confidence of the Ukrainian side that the European Parliament and the EU won’t go beyond this proposal, the implementation of which might result in joyful results of the Summit in Vilnius,” wrote Siwiec and added that the solution to this problem is entirely dependent on the goodwill of the President Viktor Yanukovych.
In turn, MEP Pawel Kowal concluded: “The loss of civil rights for three years means that Tymoshenko will not be able to participate in the elections and hold public office for three years.”
The Day’s correspondent, attending the International Conference “Association Agreement and Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU: Challenges and Opportunities for the Economy and Investment” held in European Parliament in Brussels, got a comment on the report of the Cox-Kwasniewski mission from a member of the European Parliament, who talking to Ukrainian mass media this summer said that the Tymoshenko case is not political but a “normal responsibility of a corrupt former prime minister.”
Boguslaw LIBERADZKI, Member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament:
“Aleksander Kwasniewski stressed on the progress in the economic, political, and legal reforms achieved by the government in Ukraine – the Party of Regions, the government headed by Mykola Azarov, and President Viktor Yanukovych. There is no doubt that there is improvement. We must say ‘thank you’ to the state authorities for this. There is only one problem left, which is called ‘fair justice.’ It means that everyone should be equal before justice. What concerns the Tymoshenko case, we need to see some solution. If she is really sick and needs treatment somewhere abroad – in Germany or elsewhere – make it possible. But it all must be done according to the law. This means that you need, above all, to bring the Ukrainian legislation in line with the European standards.
“What concerns Yulia Tymoshenko personally, I would like to emphasize another important point. Today, she, in fact, can be granted pardon, but she has to ask for it. If she does not ask for pardon, I think, it won’t be possible to either release her or send her to receive medical treatment. This matter is in the hands of the Ukrainian government and the president, as well as in the hands of the Cox- Kwasniewski mission. In my opinion, the continuation of this mission means that there is a dialogue. And I think that we are very close to signing the Association Agreement. We just need to work together a little bit more.”
