Council of Europe

The Secretary General

Strasbourg, France

15 December 2011

Mr Taras Pidzamecky, President

Ms Daria Diakowsky, National Secretary

Ukrainian National Federation of Canada

145 Evans Avenue, Suite #210

Toronto ON M8Z 5X8

Dear Mr Pidzamecky and Ms Diakowsky,

Thank you for your letter of 17 November concerning the conviction of Yulia Tymoshenko.

I can assure you that the Council of Europe is following Mrs Tymoshenko’s situation closely. The Committee of Ministers, on 12 October, recalled the obligations and commitments placed on member states by the Statute of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, and expressed its serious concern about the trial of Mrs Tymoshenko and the verdict, as well as the ongoing trials of other Ukrainian public figures, and the perception of selective and politically motivated justice.

My representative in Ukraine is monitoring these cases on a regular basis, and I am personally in constant dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities on ways of developing an independent judiciary and implementing a legislative framework in line with Council of Europe standards.

Yours sincerely,

Thorbjørn Jagland