11:34 21.02.2014

Ukraine opposition leader demands closure of protesters' cases, Tymoshenko release

2 min read
Ukraine opposition leader demands closure of protesters' cases, Tymoshenko release

The Ukrainian opposition wants the authorities to immediately re-enact the 2004 constitution, drop criminal charges filed against detained pro-European Union protesters and release former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from prison, Batkivschyna (Fatherland) faction leader Arseniy Yatseniuk said at a parliamentary session on Friday.

"The 2004 constitution must be reinstated immediately," he said.

Instead of an amnesty resolution, the country's parliament should vote in favor of closing all of the criminal cases opened against pro-EU protesters, Yatseniuk said.

"We need a law that would relieve these people of criminal liability, not an amnesty law. We also insist that Yulia Tymoshenko be released from prison," he said.

Yatseniuk also called on parliament to adopt legislative acts aimed at restoring stability in Ukraine.

"In particular, I would like to reiterate the need to prosecute the criminals who were sitting in their offices and were issuing orders to open fire on people," he said.

Tymoshenko was arrested during her trial on August 5, 2011. Kyiv's Pechersky District Court found her guilty of abuse of office in signing a gas supply contract with Russia in 2009 and sentenced her to 7 years in prison on October 11, 2011.

The former prime minister has been serving her term at the Kachanivska penitentiary in Kharkiv since the end of December 2011.

Tymoshenko has been receiving medical treatment at Kharkiv's Hospital No. 5 since May 9, 2012.

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