[EN] Захист Ю.Тимошенко намагається перетворити допит свідків у справ Є.Щербаня на шоу – В.Зубанов

KYIV. February 14. UNN.

Volodymyr Zubanov, a People's Deputy of the sixth convocation, expressed the opinion that Yulia Tymoshenko's lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, should build the defense on concrete facts rather than on trifles from Louis Vuitton, writes

"Tymoshenko's defense wants to turn the trial into a political show, but it is high time to move into the legal plane. I don't think the question of what Tymoshenko was wearing is important. Vlasenko is pulling out insignificant discrepancies. All this suggests that they have chosen a political rather than a legal defense. I am not familiar at all with whether it was a Louis Vuitton suit or not. I think the witness doesn't know much either. Perhaps he meant that Yulia Tymoshenko was dressed in an expensive suit, and Louis Vuitton is just a well-known name now—it's a prestigious brand, so that's why the witness said it. The witness can be understood. Perhaps Tymoshenko should have invited foreign lawyers. No matter how hard the lawyers try to turn everything into a political show, I don't think they will succeed; the topic is very serious," the politician explained.

V. Zubanov believes that S. Vlasenko does not even need to invite the director of the French fashion house Louis Vuitton as a witness, but simply review Y. Tymoshenko's bills from boutiques.

"If Vlasenko wants to talk about Louis Vuitton, he should rather bring up Yulia Volodymyrivna's bills in Moscow and Paris boutiques—if I'm not mistaken, for 2 million dollars, where she paid with a corporate card. She bought all those furs, dresses, and suits. She bought personal items with corporate money, and she should have paid income tax on everything purchased. There is about 300 thousand dollars in taxes there, and that is already embezzlement on an especially large scale. That alone carries a 7-year sentence. Therefore, if Vlasenko wants to talk about Louis Vuitton, let him talk about this fact—about how she spent corporate money but did not pay taxes," V. Zubanov noted.

As a reminder, today during the investigative actions in the Y. Shcherban case, witness Ihor Maryenkov reported that when he saw Y. Tymoshenko, she was wearing a suit. Defense attorney S. Vlasenko insisted on clarifying the details, specifically what kind of suit it was.

The interrogation of another witness in this case is scheduled for tomorrow, February 15, 2013.