KYIV, Ukraine—Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was charged on Tuesday with abusing her authority while in office and hampering criminal investigations into her conduct. She was also threatened with arrest.
The Batkivshchyna Party said she was questioned at the state prosecutor’s office for about eight hours, in a room guarded by dozens of masked police officers.
“When I came to the prosecutor’s office, I saw formal arrest procedures being conducted. All entrances were blocked by security forces; we could not connect to the outside world because all our cell phones were turned off. I was told that I would be arrested today,” she said in a televised program.
The mood outside the prosecutor’s office was very tense, as her husband, close Party allies, lawmakers, and well-wishers, showed their support.
The prosecutor said Tymoshenko, who argues charges against her are politically motivated, had been allowed to leave after the meeting with investigators.
Tymoshenko said that an arrest did not take place because of the support she garnered from European ambassadors and media attention.
Since Russian-leaning Victor Yanukovych took office last year, Tymoshenko and others in her party have seen criminal cases initiated against them.
Tymoshenko faces charges over her role in the signing of the 2009 gas deal with Russia, which the government says damaged Ukraine’s interests. The result of the deal is that Ukraine has been paying more for gas than some European countries.
Prosecutors also charged her with abuse of office over carbon permit sales and the purchase of emergency rescue vehicles for rural hospitals.
A former Interior Minister under Tymoshenko, Yuriy Lutsenko, is being held on charges of abuse of office involving embezzlement of state funds, while former Environment Minister Georgy Filipchuk also faces criminal charges.
Another Tymoshenko ally, former Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn, fled Ukraine and has been granted political asylum in the Czech Republic.
Tymoshenko is suing Dmytro Firtash, a natural gas company businessman and close associate of current president Viktor Yanukovych, in a New York court, alleging fraud, human rights violations, and racketeering.
The Batkivshchyna Party said she was questioned at the state prosecutor’s office for about eight hours, in a room guarded by dozens of masked police officers.
“When I came to the prosecutor’s office, I saw formal arrest procedures being conducted. All entrances were blocked by security forces; we could not connect to the outside world because all our cell phones were turned off. I was told that I would be arrested today,” she said in a televised program.
The mood outside the prosecutor’s office was very tense, as her husband, close Party allies, lawmakers, and well-wishers, showed their support.
The prosecutor said Tymoshenko, who argues charges against her are politically motivated, had been allowed to leave after the meeting with investigators.
Tymoshenko said that an arrest did not take place because of the support she garnered from European ambassadors and media attention.
Since Russian-leaning Victor Yanukovych took office last year, Tymoshenko and others in her party have seen criminal cases initiated against them.
Tymoshenko faces charges over her role in the signing of the 2009 gas deal with Russia, which the government says damaged Ukraine’s interests. The result of the deal is that Ukraine has been paying more for gas than some European countries.
Prosecutors also charged her with abuse of office over carbon permit sales and the purchase of emergency rescue vehicles for rural hospitals.
A former Interior Minister under Tymoshenko, Yuriy Lutsenko, is being held on charges of abuse of office involving embezzlement of state funds, while former Environment Minister Georgy Filipchuk also faces criminal charges.
Another Tymoshenko ally, former Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn, fled Ukraine and has been granted political asylum in the Czech Republic.
Tymoshenko is suing Dmytro Firtash, a natural gas company businessman and close associate of current president Viktor Yanukovych, in a New York court, alleging fraud, human rights violations, and racketeering.
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