The Prosecutor General’s Office is deliberately distorting witness testimony in an attempt to convince the public of Yulia Tymoshenko’s alleged complicity in the 1996 murder of MP Yevhen Shcherban, says defense attorney Oleksandr Plakhotnyuk, according to an Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.
"Instead of twisting the information given by the witness, the PGO should take action on Kuzhel's statement that there was a several month long conflict between Volodymyr Shcherban and Yevhen Shcherban before the latter’s assassination. This version deserves attention, but the authorities don't like it because it destroys their charges against Yulia Tymoshenko," said Oleksandr Plakhotnyuk.
"Yevhen Shcherban forced Volodymry Shcherban to step down as head of the faction and leader of the Liberal Party because he saw his political future with Yevhen Marchuk," he said.
"The PGO should look into the evidence given by Oleksandra Kuzhel, who called for an investigation into the fate of Yevhen Shcherban’s property and business so that it can be returned to its rightful heirs – his children," he added.
Oleksandr Plakhotnyuk also believes that information that Yevhen Shcherban’s children were against the guardianship of Volodymyr Shcherban and that there was an attempt on the life of the real guardian, Yuriy Didukh, and Yevhen Shcherban’s son Ruslan can also help lead to the truth.
The lawyer stressed that information provided by Oleksandra Kuzel regarding a contract signed between the companies ISD and UESU in 1995 and the fact that Yulia Tymoshenko was invited to the MP's 50th birthday celebration shows that the the ex-premier had a good relationship with Yevhen Shcherban.
He said recent statements by representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding Oleksandra Kuzhel’s testimony seem like hysteria over the public learning facts that the authorities were trying to cover up. "These facts are sufficient to cast doubt on the suspicion of Yulia Tymoshenko’s alleged involvement in Shcherban’s murder," stressed Oleksandr Plakhotnyuk.
