Canadian Friends of Ukraine at Yulia Tymoshenko Trial

Kyiv, August 29, 2011 - Representatives of Canadian Friends of Ukraine (CFU) – a Canadian NGO established to foster democracy in Ukraine and promote inter-parliamentary relations between Ukraine and Canada – attended the trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Yulia Tymoshenko held at the Pechersky Regional Court. Mrs. Tymoshenko is charged with concluding an illegal gas-price deal with Russia in 2009.

CFU President Margareta Shpir and Director of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Centre Lisa Shymko attended the August 25 court proceedings with representatives of the Ukrainian and international media, as well as prominent parliamentarians Borys Tarasyuk, Andriy Shkil, and others. Yulia Tymoshenko’s daughter, Zhenia Carr, sat next to her mother during the proceedings.

During the session in a barely audible voice, Judge Rodion Kireyev read selected excerpts from documents that the prosecution had submitted into evidence. Several hours into the proceedings, one of Mrs. Tymoshenko’s defence attorneys asked that the judge read all of the documents submitted and not merely the synopsis or document headings. On that day of the trial, only 7 of a total of 18 volumes of documents had been read.

The CFU members were struck by the disproportionately large number of Ministry of Internal Affairs security agents, known as “Gryphon” forces, present in the very small court room who stood facing the public gallery, creating an atmosphere of intimidation.

During a court recess, Yulia Tymoshenko spoke briefly with the CFU. In 2003, Mrs. Tymoshenko was part of a delegation of high-profile parliamentarians who visited Canada at the invitation of Canadian Friends of Ukraine. Upon leaving the court, CFU representatives Margareta Shpir and Lisa Shymko held a press conference outside the Pechersky Regional Court Building with Ukraine’s leading media outlets present,  including TV channels 1- , 1+1, 24 TV,TБ , 5-й канал ,СТБ ,СіТі , Інтер, ICTV,Глас , НТН and the German news outlet Berhner Zeitung.

Asked about the role that CFU plays in Ukraine, Ms. Shpir commented that “our non-governmental organization works to promote democracy. As Canadians, we believe that a government must work in the interests of its people, not the other way around. A prosperous Ukraine is not a goal in itself. It must be integrally linked to the entrenchment of all aspects of democracy, including the values of human rights and the rule of law.”

When asked about the reaction of other countries to the Tymoshenko trial, Ms. Shymko remarked that Canada and the European Union were closely monitoring the trial proceedings: “The cornerstone of Canada’s foreign policy is the promotion of all the institutions that form a democratic civil society, including an impartial judiciary and a free press. If Ukraine’s current course continues, I fear that this may jeopardize its international position including entry into the EU.”

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CFU's President M. Shpir (centre) and L. Shymko at press conference in front of Pechersky Regional Court in Kyiv