The Prosecutor General’s Office has suspended the investigation and is dragging out the Yevhen Shcherban murder case because they have no evidence of Yulia Tymoshenko’s complicity in this crime, says defense attorney Serhiy Sas, according to official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.
"The Shcherban case has fallen apart. I think the Prosecutor General’s Office has nothing to go to court with. Why am I saying this? In January of this year we learned from the media that Prosecutor General Pshonka said that the prosecution has gathered all the evidence and finished their investigation. Then on April 26 the investigation is suspended and resumed on May 13," Serhiy Sas said on TVi.
He pointed out that the Criminal Procedure Code allows an investigation to be suspended, but questioning witnesses in court doesn’t give grounds to say that enough evidence has been collected. "I’m convinced the PGO in this situation is simply taking a time-out to drag out the process for an infinite period to save face in such a bad game," he said.
Serhiy Sas also believes that after the interrogation of Petro Kyrychenko the investigation will again be suspended indefinitely. "Given the fact that it can take a long time to get materials from competent international sources, this issue is left hanging. It’s obvious that there is no chance to get such assistance becuase for many years now the Prosecutor General’s Office tried to get testimony from Lazarenko (the PGO, by the way, has amassed hundreds of volumes on him) and Petro Kyrychenko. Here it pertains to Oleksandr Tymoshenko. I don’t think this will happen, just as it didn’t happen earlier. But the PGO will continue to say that this inability doesn’t give them the right to conclude the investigation," the lawyer said.
Yulia Tymoshenko’s defense counsel underscored that the criminal prosecution of the ex-premier has a blatant political subtext. "You have the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, you have the actions by the PGO. Everything in this case depends on the president. I don’t agree with the opinion that today there are no grounds to use the ability to pardon or for consideration of the criminal case based on the circumstances in the context of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The Constitution says the president can pardon Tymoshenko at any time," he said.
"Yanukovych himself should be interested in Yulia Tymoshenko’s release. Why? You know the tale of Koshchiy the Immortal? His death is in a needle, inside an egg, inside a chest, and so forth. Yanukovych's political death is located in hospital #5 in Kharkiv. It's not possible to create the conditions there to ensure complete safety for Tymoshenko, and we're troubled by the situation there right now. If God forbid something happens – Yanukovych should understand and remember that this is his political death," said Serhiy Sas.
The defender also noted that this May marks a year since Yulia Tymoshenko saw sunlight. "We know that even people sentenced to life in prison are allowed to see the sun," he added.
