Saturday, August 6, 2011

Yulia's Arrest

Yesterday afternoon I was shocked when my colleagues informed me Yulia was arrested. I have not expected her arrest.

The court where Yulia's trail took place is on Khreshatik. I passed it every day. Since the trail started the supporters of Yulia took about 50m of pavement on the right side from the court entrance. The government supporters took another 50m on the left side from the court entrance.
Both sides put up tents with flags and huge slogans. There was music and loudspeakers. The court hearing was directly transmitted.
The trail seems politically motivated. Charges are Yulia have not negotiated well gas prices with Russia in January 2009. That's when most of the Eastern Europe was freezing because Russian closed the gas tap on Jan 1st 2009. Yulia went to negotiate gas prices with Putin and signed a deal. Russian Foreign Ministry stated the gas deal is legal.
Tymoshenko charges that her trial is a ploy by President Viktor Yanukovych to bar her from politics. Yulia refused to respect the court and remained seated when addressing the judge. She called judge a monster. When current Prime Minister gave his testimony in Russian Yulia requested a translator saying she does not understand Russian.
Yulia's yesterday's arrest makes obvious the government is not afraid showing off its power. There were 11 buses with military men on the street. So far intimidation works.

It's unclear how long will the Yulia stay in prison.




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