On Friday, January 16, a hearing was held in the High Anti-Corruption Court to determine a pre-trial restraint for MP and leader of the Batkivshchyna faction, Yulia Tymoshenko. The politician is suspected of offering an improper benefit to people's deputies, but Tymoshenko herself turned the court session into a platform for devastating criticism of anti-corruption bodies.
As a result, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Yulia Tymoshenko to pay bail in the amount of UAH 33.28 million, while the prosecution requested UAH 50 million.
"NABU is a cheap PR agency"
The session began with emotional statements from the suspect. Yulia Tymoshenko did not hold back in her expressions, characterizing the work of the detectives. According to her, the case against her is completely fabricated and politically motivated.
"It is very regrettable that NABU has turned into a cheap PR agency. There are no verdicts yet, no accusations, nothing, NABU has already released (published - ed.) all the case materials, released all the closed materials that we were forbidden to disseminate, it's just strange. I'm not even talking about the presumption of innocence. It's even ridiculous to talk about it with such NABU work. This is a cheap PR agency that aims not at justice and not at fairness," Tymoshenko noted at the beginning of the session.
Tymoshenko's defense line: accusations of provocations
Tymoshenko and her defense focused on discrediting the key figures in the case. In particular, the leader of "Batkivshchyna" openly accused People's Deputy Ihor Kopytin (although the prosecution itself referred to the figure by the pseudonym "Deputy Mazur" and did not reveal his real identity) of cooperating with NABU and preparing provocations against her. She claims that the entire case is based on the testimonies of people who have their own benefit from her persecution.
"Kopytin asked me for one, two, three meetings and said that he no longer wanted to be in the 'Servant of the People' faction, no longer wanted to work with the majority and the president (of Ukraine - ed.). And he offered cooperation many times," Tymoshenko said.
The head of "Batkivshchyna" confirmed the fact of the conversation itself, but emphasized that the subject of discussion was exclusively work in parliament. The politician called the fragments of the recording concerning the offer of a bribe for loyal voting a "compilation."
"I clearly state that Kopytin, in order to free himself from criminal liability, handed over (the recording of the conversation - ed.) to NABU or did everything to have it compiled," she added.
"We have lost control of the country": Tymoshenko's old mantra about colonization
Fending off NABU's suspicions, Tymoshenko moved to a large-scale criticism of the modern state model, returning to her time-tested thesis about Ukraine's loss of subjectivity. She stated that the case against her is only part of a plan to suppress the opposition, which hinders "external governance."
"We are told that we can protect the whole world from the invasion that is coming to Europe, but we cannot govern our own country. And we are not governing it. The National Bank has been removed from the control of the president and parliament. Our national corporations - Energoatom, Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukrposhta, state banks - have been handed over to the management of foreign supervisory boards. This is a real hybrid colonization," Tymoshenko stated from the court rostrum.
According to the suspect, state enterprises were transformed into joint-stock companies under "unconstitutional laws" without consulting the people, and she herself is almost the last obstacle to this process.
Atmosphere during the court session
The atmosphere of the court session was tense, but at the same time far from purely formal. The discussion of procedural issues was accompanied by ironic remarks, jokes, and emotional comments, which repeatedly caused laughter and applause in the hall. Because of this, the court hearing sometimes resembled a lively public discussion with political overtones more than a restrained and dry legal process.
Tymoshenko's lawyer objected to the obligation to wear an electronic bracelet. He noted that: "Tymoshenko is a woman, and women's shoes are different from men's. Walking in winter in the cold in shoes that cannot be worn, and with a bracelet, is essentially torture." Yulia Tymoshenko ironically smiled during the discussion of the "accessory."
VAСS judge Vitaliy Dubas repeatedly ironized, causing laughter and applause in the hall. Discussing the position of the prosecutors, who insisted that the suspect's movements should be monitored by police even during her foreign trips, he reacted as follows: "Our police will gladly go abroad. Without escort."
This remark sounded like transparent sarcasm and a direct hint at the realities of today: sometimes law enforcement officers themselves have to be restrained from wanting to leave the country, while in this case they are actually offered a completely legal reason to cross the border.
Another funny episode of the meeting. The defense questioned the very logic of determining bail of 50 million hryvnias. The lawyer drew attention to the fact that the investigator justified this amount by calculating the total income of Yulia Tymoshenko and her husband from 1998 to the present. At the same time, the defense emphasized that such an approach is incorrect, because the amount of bail cannot be automatically derived from income over decades and does not take into account the real circumstances of the case.
Commenting on this discussion, Judge Vitaliy Dubas ironically remarked: "If the court decides on bail - no matter what amount - it will be paid by any person. Here, neighbors, acquaintances, friends, mistresses, lovers, and lawyers, by the way, also like to pay."
In turn, Yulia Tymoshenko made an overly emotional statement in court, questioning the legality of the prosecutor's position and his qualifications.
"Did you really pass the competition for SAP? Or did you buy it?" Tymoshenko addressed the prosecutor.
She also emphasized that the actions of the prosecution have signs of fulfilling a political order: "Such prosecutors should be imprisoned, because he is fulfilling a political order, and not administering justice."
Yulia Tymoshenko's sharp statement was a reaction not to abstract accusations, but to specific actions of the prosecution during the trial.
Firstly, to the disregard of the results of NACP inspections. According to the defense, the prosecutor actually rejected documents and declarations that were officially checked by the NACP and to which no claims were found, but at the same time attached selective materials to the case that did not undergo a full anti-corruption check.
Secondly, to the method of forming the evidence base. The prosecutor, according to the defense, independently selected declarations and documents, trying to create the necessary version of the accusation, and not to prove the existence of a specific crime.
Thirdly, to the use of Judge Rodion Kireyev's verdict as evidence. The inclusion in the case materials of the decision of the judge who passed the verdict against Tymoshenko in 2011 during Yanukovych's time.
Yulia Tymoshenko also emotionally asked the court not to apply any preventive measures to her, in particular, not to restrict her communication with people's deputies. She believes that this will make it impossible for her to perform her parliamentary duties, as work in the Verkhovna Rada involves constant interaction with colleagues. According to her, she wants to protect the people and continue effective work.
"I want to ask you not to apply any preventive measures. Standing before you, I assure you that I will not miss a single invitation, because for me it is a matter of honor to bring these people to light. And I, we will definitely achieve an independent examination of these recordings (NABU tapes - ed.), because they are falsified," the MP said.
Tymoshenko's reaction to the choice of a preventive measure
The High Anti-Corruption Court set bail for Yulia Tymoshenko at UAH 33.28 million, while the prosecution requested UAH 50 million. There is no obligation to wear the infamous electronic bracelet.
In addition, the court imposed the following procedural obligations on the MP:
- appear before NABU detectives at each of their summonses;
- not to leave the Kyiv region without the permission of NABU detectives;
- inform detectives about changes in her place of residence or work;
- refrain from communicating with a defined circle of persons.
After the court announced its decision on the preventive measure, Yulia Tymoshenko made a statement sharply criticizing the actions of the prosecution and the very essence of the suspicions against her. According to her, the criminal prosecution is actually based on her political and parliamentary activities.
"My parliamentary activity is being incriminated as a crime," Tymoshenko emphasized.
In addition, the people's deputy stated that she does not agree with the court's decision and intends to appeal it.
What do we have in the end?
The VACS decision - lower bail than the prosecution demanded, and the rejection of an electronic bracelet - looks like a certain compromise. The decision did not confirm Tymoshenko's rhetoric about "repression," but it also did not remove questions about the validity of the suspicion. This leaves room for further political and legal interpretation from both sides - both from the defense and from anti-corruption bodies. In the end, Tymoshenko's case is another test for the anti-corruption system's ability to act convincingly, procedurally flawlessly, and without political overtones.
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