15:31 09.10.2012

New EU ambassador in Kyiv: 'There are political prisoners in Ukraine'

1 min read

New EU Ambassador to Ukraine Jan Tombinski has said believes that there are political prisoners in Ukraine.

"There are political prisoners in Ukraine, and this statement can be heard even from people who are closely related to the current government camp," the diplomat said in an interview with Polish Radio, which was posted on the radio station's Web site.

He said that this issue was being discussed by both Ukrainian and foreign politicians and Ukraine's partners.

"The dialog with Ukraine is being held at various political levels, and I have the impression that the current authorities in Ukraine already realize that delaying this situation makes Ukraine a prisoner of this case. In the same way as [former Prime Minister] Yulia Tymoshenko is a prisoner, Ukraine also becomes a prisoner of Yulia Tymoshenko," he said.

Tombinski became head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine this September after former EU Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira left Kyiv.

On October 11, 2011, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for abuse of office in signing gas contracts with Russia in 2009.

The former prime minister is serving her prison term in the Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv.

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