In a sign of support for former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s act of civil disobedience, three current deputies – Tetyana Slyuz, (former head of the State Treasury), Oleksandr Kuzhel (former head of the State Committee for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship) and Lyudmyla Denysova (former Minister of Labor and Social Policy) – have refused to leave the premises of the Kharkiv hospital after meeting with the opposition leader and are demanding the restoration of her legal rights, according to an Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.
"Our whole team is demanding that our leader’s legal demands be met," Oleksandr Kuzhel said.
The MPs said that before meeting with Yulia Tymoshenko they visited the Kachanivska penal colony and spoke with inmates. "There are no surveillance cameras, even in the cells for prisoners with life sentences – not in the shower, not in the cells where they sleep and get dressed. The only area that is monitored is the corridors. Therefore, everything that concerns Article 103 of the Penal Code regarding video surveillance which the head of the prison refers to isn’t applied in the penal colony - only in places for Yulia Tymoshenko," she added.
She also said there are pay phones in the prison that inmates can use. "In all her demands Yulia Tymoshenko isn’t asking for something 'exclusive'. Everything is regulated and guaranteed by law," Oleksandr Kuzhel emphasized.
"All the women being held in the Kachanivska prison aren’t restricted in movement or communication and they aren’t followed. We’re going to fight for all the demands made by Yulia Tymoshenko because in our country a person shouldn’t be treated selectively," Lyudmyla Denysova said.
In her turn, Tetyana Slyuz said that during their visit to the Kharkiv hospital they plan on speaking with Yulia Tymoshenko and checking the rooms where she stays and undergoes treatment. "Our goal is for all of Yulia Tymoshenko’s legal demands to be fulfilled," she said.
Earlier, Yulia Tymoshenko applied to the administration of the Kachanivska penal colony for a meeting with MPs Tetyana Slyuz, Oleksandr Kuzhel and Lyudmyla Denysova.
"My previous meeting was on December 3, 2012. I remind you that according to Ukrainian legislation, you do not have the right to deny me a short meeting with individuals I choose," Yulia Tymoshenko wrote.
Yulia Tymoshenko asked that the meeting take place on January 15, but the deputies were only able to visit her today.
