France disappointed by Tymoshenko appeal rejection
PARIS, August 31 - RAPSI. France is disappointed by the rejection of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's appeal of her sentence in the so-called gas case and is calling on the Ukrainian authorities to observe human rights, reads the communique issued by the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the High Specialized Court on Civil and Criminal Cases dismissed Tymoshenko's appeal, thus leaving her seven-year sentence in force.
"France is disappointed that the Ukrainian authorities have turned down Tymoshenko's appeal ," stated the ministry.
"The selective justice and non-observance of the principles a rule-of-law state should follow prevent further rapprochement with the European Union," says the communique.
In October 2011, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of power in signing gas supply contracts with Russia in 2009. She is serving her sentence in the Kharkiv women's prison. She has been receiving treatment at a Kharkiv hospital since May 2012 after being diagnosed with a spinal disc herniation.
Tymoshenko will file an application with the European Court of Human Rights against the Ukrainian High Specialized Court on Civil and Criminal Cases' decision to leave her sentence unchanged on charges of having made illegal gas deals while serving as prime minister, said her attorney Sergei Vlasenko.
In late March, a second case against Tymoshenko was filed with Kharkiv's Kievsky District Court. The case deals with her activity at United Energy Systems. She is suspected of financial machinations.
The verdict has aggravated Ukraine's ties with the EU. The West has called the sentence politically motivated, while the Ukrainian government has flatly denied the charges.
Last December, an appeals court left the sentence unchanged and transferred the former prime minister to a Kharkiv prison. Her defense appealed to the Supreme Specialized Court for Considering Criminal and Civil Cases in February. The court was made the final instance after judicial reforms in 2010. Its decisions are not subject to dispute.