[EN] О.Тимошенко присягнув перед церковниками, що дружина не причетна до убивства Є.Щербаня

KYIV. January 24. UNN.

Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, has appealed to the heads of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Volodymyr; the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate), His Holiness Filaret; the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav; and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, His Holiness Methodius, asking for intercession for his wife, reports

“In this difficult time for our state and my family, I appeal to you with a request for help and Divine intercession in the matter of protecting the life of my wife, a good Christian, Yulia Tymoshenko.

Service to the Lord and faithfulness to God's Commandments have always been, are, and will be the main virtues of our family. My wife has been illegally deprived of her liberty for almost two years by her main political rival, Viktor Yanukovych, who can only deal in such a way with people who have always faithfully served their land and stood guard over God's truth.

As Yulia's husband and the head of the family, I swear before the Lord and assure you that Yulia Tymoshenko is not involved in the offenses alleged against her by the current authorities, let alone in possible participation in the alleged financing of Shcherban's murder. This is a great mortal sin, as only the Lord God gives and takes life.

I ask you to turn in prayer to God for the release of Yulia Tymoshenko from the place of imprisonment where she—innocently convicted—has been locked up by the current authorities. The Lord God is merciful and loves mankind, and He will not allow dark forces to maim the lives of innocent people.

I ask for God's mercy, I ask for your intercession. Perhaps God's grace and your wise word will break the callous souls of the representatives of the current regime, for whom the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko is a continuation of their term in power.

Yulia's critical state of health indicates the immediate necessity of organizing her treatment abroad. For today, it is a matter of life or death for a wife, mother, and faithful servant of God, Yulia.

Do not let the antichrist raise his sword over the head of an innocent person.

Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for you, for our Ukraine, and its blessed people,” the appeal reads.

As a reminder, Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka stated at a briefing on January 18 that former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko could face life imprisonment if it is proven that she ordered the murder of People's Deputy Yevhen Shcherban.

As a reminder, Yevhen Shcherban, a member of the executive committee of the Liberal Party and a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, was shot dead on November 3, 1996, at the Donetsk airport upon arrival from Moscow. The perpetrators fled the scene in a car. Shcherban, his wife, and a mechanic died as a result of their wounds. The aircraft's flight engineer died in the hospital from a gunshot wound to the neck. Law enforcement agencies ruled out a political version of the murder and pursued a criminal one as the primary lead.

In April 2003, the Luhansk Region Court of Appeal sentenced Shcherban's killers to life imprisonment. In particular, Vadym Bolotskykh was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property for the murder of Shcherban. The defendants were members of a criminal group operating in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The leader of the group, Yevhen Kushnir, died in the Donetsk pre-trial detention center.

In April, Shcherban's son, Donetsk Regional Council deputy Ruslan Shcherban, stated that he had handed over documents to the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the possible involvement of former Prime Ministers Tymoshenko and Lazarenko in the murder of his father.