Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko(Ukrainian: Ю́лія Володи́мирівна Тимоше́нко, pronounced [ˈjulijɑ ʋɔlɔˈdɪmɪriʋnɑ tɪmɔˈʃɛnkɔ], née Hrihyan, Грігян,[4] born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010.[5][6]Tymoshenko is the leader of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland", which is the largest opposition political party in Ukraine.[7]
Tymoshenko has been a practicing economist and academic. Prior to her political career, Yulia Tymoshenko was a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry, becoming by some estimates one of the richest people in the country. Before becoming Ukraine's first female Prime Minister in 2005,[8] Tymoshenko co-led theOrange Revolution.[9] She placed third inForbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2005.[10] Tymoshenko was a candidate in the Ukrainian presidential elections of 2010,[11] but lost that election toViktor Yanukovych (Tymoshenko received 45.47% of the votes in the second and final round[12] of the election, 3% less than her rival[13][14]). In December 2012 the united opposition nominated her and later in June 2013 confirmed her as its candidate in the2015 Ukrainian presidential election.[15]Tymoshenko strives for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, strongly opposes the membership of Ukraine in the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, and supports eradication of post-Soviet corrupt clans in Ukraine.[16]
Since May 2010 a number of criminal caseshave been brought against Tymoshenko.[17][18] On June 24, 2011, a trial started in the “gas case,” concerning a contract with Russian gas company Gazpromto supply natural gas to Ukraine, which had been signed in 2009. Tymoshenko was charged with abuse of power andembezzlement, as the allegedly biased court found the deal anti-economic for the country and abusive. On 11 October 2011, a Ukrainian court sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison after she was found guilty of all charges. The sentence resulted in public protests in front of the court house.[19]Following the February 2014 Euromaidan riots, on 21 February 2014, Parliament voted for her release in a 310-54 veto-proof vote. It is not immediately clear when she will be released.[20]
The trial was viewed by many international organizations, such as the Danish Helsinki Committee, as a politically-charged persecution that violates the law.[21]Tymoshenko is currently being held in theKharkiv-based Central Clinical Hospital No. 5 under police surveillance, where since May 2012 she has been receiving treatment after being diagnosed with a spinal disc herniation.[22][23] Tymoshenko has been on three hunger strikes since her imprisonment.[24][25][26][27][28][29] TheEuropean Union and other international organizations see the conviction as "justice being applied selectively under political motivation."[30] The European Union has shelved the European Union Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine over the issue.[31][25][32] The EU has repeatedly called for release of Yulia Tymoshenko as a primary condition for signing the EU Association Agreement. [nb 1] [33] The European Court on Human Rights said in its April 30, 2013 judgment that Tymoshenko’s arrest in the case concerning the 2009 gas supply contract had been politically motivated and her rights had been violated.[34] On September 5, 2013, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report criticising the investigation into allegations that physical force has been used against Yulia Tymoshenko.[35]
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