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German expert not rule out address to ECHR over Timoshenko’s case

The European Commission also demanded the access of competent persons and lawyers to Timoshenko

BERLIN, May 2 (Itar-Tass) — Philipp Missfelder, member of the Christian Democratic Union, has not rule out a possibility to file a lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights due to the case of Ukrainian former prime minister Yulia Timoshenko.

Germany and its European partners should discuss this variant, Missfelder said on Wednesday.

“The legal bearings have more impact in the field of the protection of human rights than calls for boycotting the Euro 2012 in Ukraine,” the German expert said. In his view, the lawsuit could include legitimacy of juridical proceedings towards the Ukrainian former prime minister and conditions of imprisonment.

Timoshenko is serving a seven-year-term in Kharkov. The court sentenced her on October 11, 2011 for exceeding her authority in the signing of the gas contract with Russia in 2009. She was also compelled to pay 1.51 billion grivnas (about 200 million U.S. dollars) to Neftegaz Ukrainy.

A new case against her was opened on October 13, 2011 for writing off the debt of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine to the Russian Defence Ministry worth 405,500,500 U.S. dollars to the state budget of Ukraine, while being the corporation president, under conspiracy with other former prime minister Pavel Lazarenko.

The European Union demanded urgent explanations of the Ukrainian authorities about the situation of the former prime minister, who went on a hunger strike at the Kharkov penitentiary in protest against her alleged beating by penitentiary guards.

The European Commission also demanded the access of competent persons and lawyers to Timoshenko.

European countries, including Germany, calls for boycotting the UEFA Champions League 2012 due to take place in Ukraine. The German government made it clear that Chancellor Angela Merkel could refuse to arrive in Ukraine during the Euro 2012 depending on the fate of the former prime minister.