Head of the Delegation of the Netherlands to the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE Coskun Coruz today visited former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the Kharkiv hospital where she is receiving medical treatment, according to Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko. During the nearly two-hour meeting they discussed the importance of an independent judiciary and prison reform in Ukraine.
"I appreciate the Ukrainian authorities allowing me to visit Ms. Tymoshenko and I hope this visit is the start of Ukraine showing a permanent commitment to its OSCE values and dialogue with the OSCE," Coskun Coruz said after the hospital visit.
The parliamentarian noted that the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the prosecution of ex-Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko was politically motivated and that Ukraine must pay him 15,000 euros in compensation for moral damages.
He said that Yulia Tymoshenko also hopes the European Court of Human Rights will rule similarly in her case. "I have positive feelings about the changes to the criminal procedure, but I have great concerns about the case of Tymoshenko. There should be transparency in the whole case," said Coskun Coruz.
Coskun Coruz is the author of a resolution to be voted on this week in Monaco by more than 250 parliamentarians from 54 countries at the OSCE PA Annual Session. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions resolution calls for countries serving as OSCE Chair-in-Office to set the standard for "exemplary observance" of their human rights commitments, including respecting the independence of the judiciary. Ukraine`s OSCE chairmanship begins in January 2013.
The Parliament of the Principality of Monaco will host the 21st Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from 5 to 9 July 2012. The theme of this year`s Annual Session is "The OSCE: Region of Change."
