The European Court of Human Rights has communicated to the Ukrainian Government the second application Tymoshenko v. Ukraine and requested it to submit its observations on the complaints. The case is the application brought by the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, and imainly concerns the criminal proceedings brought against her relating to contracts for the supply of gas.

Yuliya Tymoshenko, born in 1960, is the leader of Batkivshchyna, one of the strongest opposition parties in Ukraine, and of Yuliya Tymoshenko's Bloc. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005 and between December 2007 and March 2010. In April 2011, criminal proceedings were brought against her for allegedly making an illegal order for the signing of a contract concerning gas imports. On 11 October 2011, she was convicted on all charges, including that of exceeding authority or official powers, and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and a three-year ban on holding public office. On 29 August 2012, the conviction and sentence were upheld in a final judgment.

Ms Tymoshenko's first application before the European Court of Human Rights (no. 49872/11) concerned complaints related to her detention. In its Chamber judgment of 30 April 2013, which is not final, the Court held that Ms Tymoshenko's pre-trial detention had been arbitrary, that the lawfulness of her detention had not been properly reviewed, and, that she had had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful deprivation of liberty, in violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The second application, brought on 10 August 2011, concerns the fairness of the criminal proceedings. In particular, relying on Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) and (c) (right to a fair trial), Ms Tymoshenko complains of difficulties in defending her case before the national courts and questions their independence and impartiality. (more...)