The Supreme Court of Ukraine Clears Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Gas Contract Case

June 26, 2014

Yesterday the Ukrainian Supreme Court cleared party leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of all charges related to signing a gas contract with Russia in 2009.  Former six-term U.S. congressman Jim Slattery, who chairs Wiley Rein’s Public Policy Group, has represented Ms. Tymoshenko—along with her husband Oleksander Tymoshenko—since 2011.

“On behalf of those who have supported the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, we are extremely pleased with the court’s decision,” said Mr. Slattery.  “It’s impressive to note that the 42-member court unanimously determined Ms. Tymoshenko’s actions in the case were lawful, and that she had been unjustly imprisoned since 2011.” 

Mr. Slattery further noted, “Ms. Tymoshenko is enormously grateful to the U.S. Senate and Congress for their years of steadfast support for her release from prison and in clearing her name of these politically motivated charges.  She is extremely pleased with the court’s decision and looks forward to playing a constructive role in the future of Ukraine.”

Ms. Tymoshenko, who served as Ukraine’s prime minister in 2005 and again from 2007 until 2010, was serving a seven-year prison sentence following her 2011 trial convened by her political rivals.  She was released in February 2014 amid protests in Kiev that forced ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the capital.

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