European Court of Human Rights regarding Yulia Tymoshenko
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday 30th April 2013 made a number of determinations regarding the arrest and imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, on charges of exceeding her powers.
The court unanimously ruled that there were violations of Articles 5 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ECHR called her pre-trial detention “arbitrary and unlawful” and said it was “for other reasons” than those permitted by law. The court also said she had been deprived of the right to challenge her detention and had not been given an opportunity to seek compensation for unlawful deprivation of liberty.
Both the European Union and the United States have criticised Tymoshenko’s arrest and imprisonment as “politically motivated” and “selective justice.” In addition the European Union has referred to Tymoshenko’s treatment as a major obstacle to progress on a free trade and political association agreement.
Call to Action
As a consequence of the determination by the European Court of Human Rights, the Australian Federation of Australian Organisations (AFUO) has called upon its member organisations to act in this matter by writing to Members of Parliament.
Call to Action letter: TYMOSHENKO CALL TO ACTION May 2013
