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New criminal case instituted over Ukraine's former premier

This time she is charged with relegating the repayment of debts of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine corporation to the national budget

KIEV, October 13 (Itar-Tass) — A new criminal case has been instituted over Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, who has already heard a guilty verdict under the previous case earlier this week.

This time she is charged with relegating the repayment of debts of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine corporation to the national budget, Ivan Derevyanko, the chief of investigations department at the Ukrainian Security Service told a news briefing Thursday.

He indicated that, apart from Timoshenko, a criminal case has also been instituted against one more former Prime Minister, Pavel Lazarenkvo, he said.

When Timoshenko was President and the de facto owner of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine, she made a conspiracy with Lazarenko and grossly misspent the budgetary funds by making the government responsible for repaying the monies the power monopoly owned to the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to Derevyanko, the charges against Timoshenko of the crime were issued to her Wednesday. The pretrial investigation related to the case continues.

Derevyanko also indicated that Timoshenko, if found guilty under the new case, may face a jail term of seven to twelve years. The sentence that was read out in Kiev’s Pechersky district court Tuesday sent her to jail for seven years, too.

In the meantime, President Viktor Yanukovich of Ukraine said Thursday he hopes the Kiev appeals court will hear an appeal against the ruling on Timoshenko in line with a revised Criminal Code.

He said it while making a trip to the western Khmelnitsky region where the electorate traditionally supports Timoshenko.

“If a situation of this kind occurred in some other country, no one would dare opening his or her mouth about it there,” Yanukovich said referring to the political implications of the case.

He also added: “Foreigners look at Ukraine as if it were something to be seen at through a microscope.”

Yanukovich stressed along with it he hopes the appeals court will hear Timoshenko’s case under the revised legislation.

A new Criminal Code is due to be adopted soon, he recalled.

“If the new legislative initiatives are endorsed before the moment the appeals court starts reviewing the Timoshenko case, the judges will certainly take account of the changes,” Yanukovich said.

He added that the appeals court will consider the appeal in line with the legislation that will be in effect on the date of hearings.