This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/21/ukraine-opposition-leader-yulia-tymoshenko
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Ukraine vote could pave way for release of Yulia Tymoshenko | Ukraine vote could pave way for release of Yulia Tymoshenko |
(35 minutes later) | |
Ukraine's parliament has voted for amendments in the criminal code that could pave the way for the release of the jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. | |
The amendments would decriminalise aspects of the criminal code relevant to her prosecution and set Ukrainian law in line with European Union legislation, her supporters have said. | The amendments would decriminalise aspects of the criminal code relevant to her prosecution and set Ukrainian law in line with European Union legislation, her supporters have said. |
"We are insisting that there is a vote on a bill which would free Tymoshenko," the former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, who has taken over as head of her Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party since she was jailed, told parliament. | |
Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and long-standing rival of the president, Viktor Yanukovich, was narrowly defeated in a runoff for the presidency in February 2010. | |
She was jailed in 2011 for seven years for abuse of office linked to a gas deal she brokered with Russia as prime minister, after a trial denounced as political by the European Union. | |
Andriy Kozhemyakin, a pro-Tymoshenko deputy, said the move would do away with Soviet-era legislation that allows people in power to destroy political opponents. "We must cut this knot," he said. | Andriy Kozhemyakin, a pro-Tymoshenko deputy, said the move would do away with Soviet-era legislation that allows people in power to destroy political opponents. "We must cut this knot," he said. |
Earlier, Yanukovich signed an agreement with three opposition leaders in an attempt to end a crisis that sparked bloody clashes between protesters and police on the streets of the capital, Kiev. | |
The deal sets out plans to hold early presidential elections, form a national unity government and revert to the 2004 constitution, removing some of the president's powers. | The deal sets out plans to hold early presidential elections, form a national unity government and revert to the 2004 constitution, removing some of the president's powers. |
Previous version
1
Next version