EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule, in the context of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), have urged the Ukrainian authorities to reconsider thoroughly the situation with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, according to their joint statement released on April 30.

"Today's [Tuesday's] judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Tymoshenko v. Ukraine confirms the concerns consistently expressed by the EU regarding the arbitrary legal proceedings in the case of Yulia Tymoshenko," reads the statement.

In the context of this judgment, Ashton and Fule called on the Ukrainian authorities "to reconsider thoroughly the situation of Ms Tymoshenko, the leader of one of the strongest opposition parties in the country, who remains detained after a trial that did not respect fair, transparent and independent legal proceedings."

The EU representatives also stressed the "importance of a clearly expressed commitment by the Ukrainian authorities to early implementation of all judgments of the European Court of Human Rights."

"We also continue to encourage the Ukrainian authorities to work closely with the European Parliament's monitoring mission to Ukraine headed by former Presidents [Pat] Cox and [Aleksander] Kwasniewski with a view to redressing the effects of the current situation and removing outstanding concerns regarding selective justice in Ukraine," reads the statement.

Ashton and Fule said that Ukraine should also take urgent steps "to remedy the systemic procedural shortcomings identified in this ruling, as part of a comprehensive reform of the judiciary, to prevent recurrence of arbitrary decisions and allay concerns over the selective use of justice."

"This is essential in order to fully implement the conclusions of the December 10, 2012 Foreign Affairs Council and the joint statement of the EU-Ukraine Summit of February 25, 2013," they said.

It was reported earlier that the ECHR said in publicizing its judgment on Tuesday that Tymoshenko's arrest in the case concerning the 2009 gas supply contract with Russia had been politically motivated and her rights had been violated.

Tymoshenko was arrested during her trial dealing with the conclusion of a 2009 gas supply contract with Russia on August 5, 2011. Kyiv's Pechersky District Court found Tymoshenko guilty of abuse of office in signing this gas supply contract and sentenced her to seven years in prison on October 11, 2011. Tymoshenko has been serving her sentence at a penitentiary in Kharkiv since December 2011. Since May 9, 2012, she has been staying at a Kharkiv hospital and receiving medial treatment there.

Apart from the complaint against Tymoshenko's arrest, her defense team also filed a complaint with the ECHR against a violation of her right to a fair and public hearing due to political motives (Articles 6 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights), meaning her conviction in the 2009 gas supply case. The proceedings on the complaint were opened in October 2012.