His Excellency Mr. Ivan Simonovic
Assistant Secretary-General
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Headquarters
New York, New York 10017

Dear Assistant General-Secretary:

On behalf of the 27 organizations in 17 countries that belong to the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations, we would like to take this opportunity during the 56th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women to appeal to you to more actively engage the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in efforts to end the politically motivated incarceration of Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
A leader of the political opposition in Ukraine, specifically in opposition to Ukraine’s current president Viktor Yanukovych, YuliaTymoshenko was arrested, charged, tried and convicted last year of “exceeding her authority” (abuse of power) as prime minister in January 2009 for an agreement with the Russian Federation to provide Ukraine with gas for ten years at a price that the Yanukovych administration has asserted is “ludicrously unfair” and claims costs Ukraine millions more than necessary.
Immediately after the announcement of the guilty verdict in October 2011, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton questioned the verdict, stating that the trial had not met international legal standards and threatened Ukraine’s integration into Europe. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation issued a harsh statement criticizing the obvious “anti-Russian bias” in the charges and verdict and noted that the gas agreement was signed with direction and approval from the presidents of both Ukraine and Russia, Viktor Yushchenko and Dmitri Medvedev.
The Office of the White House issued a statement noting that the United States was “deeply disappointed” with the trial and the “politically motivated conviction” of the former prime minister and leader of the opposition, and urged her immediate release, as did Amnesty International. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also issued a statement expressing his concerns over the fairness of the trial and conviction of Yulia Tymoshenko. Recently, Member of the European Parliament Pawel Kowal, co-chair of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, requested that Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka allow a delegation of MEPs to visit the former prime minister in the Kachanivksa penal colony, noting that “Ukrainian authorities failed to convince the international community that the Yulia Tymoshenko case was impartial.” And, on February 28, The European People’s Party (EPP) in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly made public an appeal calling on Ukrainian authorities to allow observers and representatives of international organizations, such as the International Red Cross, to visit and observe Yulia Tymoshenko
In his October 2011 verdict, the judge speculated that Ukraine’s state gas company could have been saved the equivalent of $188 million dollars over ten years had Prime Minister Tymoshenko signed a more favorable agreement with the Russian Federation’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin; the fact that she did not was proof that she worked under foreign influence and did not act in the best interest of Ukraine. Despite the fundamentally dubious use of a bilateral agreement as the legal basis for a criminal judgment with no substantiated proof of personal gain or other criminal activity, the situation of Yulia Tymoshenko points to the cynical sophistication of modern day judicial abuse and the efforts of certain governments to thwart the development of a true democracy.
As another example of selective prosecution of opposition politicians, on February 27, 2012, Yuri Lutsenko, an opposition leader and a former Interior Minister of Ukraine, was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to four years in prison. Specifically, Mr. Lutsenko was convicted of providing bonuses and perks to his driver at the expense of the state. The disproportionality of the charges to the terms of imprisonment once again lend credence to the accusations that the prison terms are being used as tools to keep both opposition leaders from participating in the October 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine, as well as the 2015 presidential election.
WFUWO expresses our deep concern with the progressive and cynical dismantling of democracy in Ukraine under the Yanukovych administration, using the tools of a politically controlled judiciary, selective prosecution, and absurd legal charges. In particular, we would like to emphasize the personal situation of Yulia Tymoshenko. We are deeply troubled by her continuing imprisonment and the ongoing deprivation of her human rights.
– As of February 27, within the span of a week, Mrs. Tymoshenko’s daughter Evgenia had been denied visitation with her mother three times in a row, although she has the legal right to visit as part of her mother’s defense team.
– Under the guise of “for her own protection”, Mrs. Tymoshenko is kept isolated and subject to spotlights 24/7.
– Independent medical teams that arrived from Canada and Germany in mid-February with the agreement of the government of Ukraine were, nonetheless, not allowed to perform onsite tests and were not given records of her medical history, despite previous assurances that this would be allowed. As a result, at the time of departure, their medical findings were inconclusive, which the government of Ukraine chose to distort and announce that experts have found that Yulia Tymoshenko has no health problems and that she was exaggerating. These distortions were refuted by a joint statement issued February 27 by the delegation of Canadian doctors who underscored that Mrs. Tymoshenko was willing to be tested, but Ukrainian authorities would not allow the tests, and that she was in pain and disabled. The Canadian team mentioned their particular concern that Yulia Tymoshenko was being injected with substances that are banned in Canada.
– Despite findings by the prison facility’s own medical team that Yulia Tymoshenko has an injury in the lumbar spine area, she is denied use of her crutches and painkillers, confirmed in a February 22 statement by Zuzanna Roithov, the former Minister of Health of the Czech Republic, who met with Mrs. Tymoshenko, in a visit made after the Canadian and German medical delegations, and who also noted that she had concerns that Mrs. Tymoshenko’s deteriorating health problems could be a result of maltreatment in prison.
– Yulia Tymoshenko is subject to constant sexist remarks and public humiliation from members of the administration of President Yanukovych, as well as his political party, without an option for an effective response.
– In an attempt to further exhaust her and her resources, additional charges are being brought against Yulia Tymoshenko, while limiting her access to attorneys.

We request that you please consider avenues to convince the government of Viktor Yanukovych to step away from this vengeful and destructive plan of action from which, ultimately, all Ukraine suffers. The politically motivated misuse of the judicial system not only denies Mrs. Tymoshenko her basic rights, but also cynically undermines the possibility of a democratic evolution for all of Ukraine’s citizens. Despite enormous odds, Ukraine had begun to move away effectively from the burden of its Soviet past. Yet, in the past two years, the regression has been profound, an egregious example of which is the selective prosecution and confinement of the former prime minister. The people of Ukraine have consistently shown, through public demonstrations, as well as the ballot box, that they want democracy, a society governed with fairness, a welcomed partner in the international community. We, therefore, ask for a show of strong support and encouragement to help Ukraine meet this challenge.

Sincerely,

Mary Szkambara
President
World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations

Irene Jarosewich

– Signature
NGO Representative accredited with the United Nations Department of Public Information
World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations

Hand-delivered March 7, 2012 at the United Nations