Ukraine: Between European Hopes and Political Persecutions

The ongoing imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister of Ukraine, remains a political act.  It continues to wield a destructive impact on the Ukrainian criminal justice system, rule of law and any public confidence in a legal system in Ukraine.  By creating an atmosphere, in which no Ukrainian civil servant can be confident their conduct will not be improperly judged and they unfairly punished, the sentence also affects the entire system of governance and public life in the Ukraine.  Yet away from the media headlines, ordinary Ukrainians—journalists, human rights activists, trade unionists—suffer similar political persecution.  Many endure violence, imprisonment or exile. As a growing audience follows the plight of Yulia Tymoshenko, the outside world would do well to remember that Tymoshenko’s imprisonment reflects a deeper, embedded reality, endured by many more Ukrainians.

Imprisoned opposition leaders form an integral part of the political landscape of today’s Ukraine.  In 2007, Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko led political blocks that became part of a coalition government. Following the election, Tymoshenko and Lutsenko became the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior Affairs, respectively. In 2010, Tymoshenko lost the presidential election to her political rival, Viktor Yanukovych. In late 2011, after several months of trial, strongly criticized by domestic and international observers as unfair and politically motivated, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison, and is now held in a penal colony in Kharkiv. Lutsenko received a four-year term after being kept in pretrial detention for 13 months. Today Tymoshenko is facing new charges for alleged financial abuses 15 years ago.

The cases have significantly cooled the relations between Ukraine and the European Union. Under the circumstances, many European governments are reluctant to sign the Association Agreement with Ukraine, which would significantly deepen Ukraine’s political association and economic integration with the European Union. This, combined with criticism from the Council of Europe, Western leaders and pressure from civil society organizations has not been without effect.  No new politically motivated criminal cases have been opened since 2011; political prisoners, apart from several former members of government, have been released from custody.

However, this progress is limited.  Tymoshenko and Lutsenko remain in prison despite their sentences being deemed illegitimate by a growing group of independent voices. It is clear, that forces other than the law were the ultimate arbiter as to whether they should be sentenced or not.  It is probable that the European Court will recognize that Article 5 of the European Convention (right for freedom) was violated in both trials.  Multiple questions remain in relation to Tymoshenko’s trial.  From a legal standpoint alone for example, can one recognize as evidence—as the court did—second-hand testimony from someone not questioned in person during the trial? This and other conduct increasingly build the case that Tymoshenko’s right to a “reasoned decision” as stipulated by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights was violated.

The criminal case against Yuri Lutsenko is equally insubstantial and in reality fell apart during the court hearing. Only one of the numerous witnesses confirmed the evidence they had provided during the pre-trial investigation.  The evidence of most witnesses in court demonstrated the former minister’s innocence. The accusations themselves could not stand up to scrutiny.  Much of what Lutsenko was accused of are not criminally punishable actions.  Yuri Lutsenko’s sentence remains a mockery of justice in the Ukraine.

Elsewhere, out-of-court persecution of public activists has not stopped. Violations of freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association have grown more aggressive.  While the imprisonment of high profile politicians gains mass media coverage, the plight of public activists, journalists, human rights activists, NGO members, participants of trade union, youth and student movements receives little to no attention.

According to research by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, in 2010-2011 approximately 60 representatives of the public and 11 NGOs from 17 different regions in the Ukraine were subjected to different forms of political persecution. Criminal cases were initiated in regard to 30 different people. 27 people experienced limitation of their freedom (arrest, detention on remand or imprisonment) for different periods of time; 16 people experienced physical violence and two persons emigrated from Ukraine. All encountered either the unfair, unlawful or improper application of the law or indeed the state’s inadequate intervention on their part.

Though high profile political repression has eased, the threat remains. Given these methods’ effective track record in suppression and control, they remain an appealing tool for the ‘hawks’ in the country’s leadership. The inclination to use force as a method of resolution is a strong one and difficult to change. While growing international attention and external pressure has eased the rate of political persecution, there remains no apparent readiness at the top to engage in any meaningful new direction.  Though external pressure around cases such as Tymoshenko is welcome and must continue, the problem of political persecution in the Ukraine neither starts nor ends there.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union is a grantee of the Open Society Foundations.