The defense lawyer of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Serhiy Vlasenko, has said there is no reason to interrogate ex-governor of Donetsk region Volodymyr Scherban on the criminal case on the murder of Ukrainian parliamentarian Yevhen Scherban.

"There is no reason for hearing Scherban's evidence in court at the pre-trial investigation stage," Vlasenko said during a Tuesday court hearing.

He said that according to the current Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, a witness could be interrogated at the pre-trial investigation stage only if there is suspicion that pressure could be placed on the witness. The defense lawyer also stressed that the investigators have not explained the reason for the interrogation of the witness.

Vlasenko also said that Tymoshenko's defense team did not have enough time to prepare properly for the court hearing.

On February 18 in the evening, the press service of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine said that Tymoshenko would not be transported to Kyiv for participation in the interrogation of a witness, as the interrogation scheduled for February 19 had been cancelled due to the illness of the witness.

On February 19, investigatory judge of Kyiv Pechersky District Court Hanna Medushevska announced at a court hearing at the Kyiv Court of Appeals that the interrogation of ex-governor of Donetsk region Volodymyr Scherban, who is a witness on the criminal case on the murder of Ukrainian parliamentarian Yevhen Scherban, was postponed until March 4 due to the witness' illness.

On January 18, 2013, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Pshonka said at a briefing that the Prosecutor General's Office had finished its investigation into the criminal case on the murder of MP Scherban and that Tymoshenko had been notified of being suspected of having organized the crime, along with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko.

The article of the Criminal Code under which the notification was handed envisages life imprisonment. According to Pshonka, Tymoshenko and Lazarenko paid $2.8 million for Scherban's killing.

Tymoshenko and Lazarenko have categorically denied being involved in the murder.

The investigatory judges of Kyiv Pechersky District Court have interrogates two witnesses on the Scherban case as part of the pre-trial investigation. Tymoshenko did not attend either of the interrogations, although she said she wanted to attend the court hearings.