Tymoshenko's trial on UESU case postponed to Feb 18
KHARKIV. Jan 18 (Interfax) - A Kharkiv court declared a recess in former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's trial regarding her management of Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) until February 12 due to her and her defender Serhiy Vlasenko's absence.
"Kharkiv's Kyivsky District Court ruled that it is impossible to hear the case in the absence of Tymoshenko and her defender and declared a recess in the judicial proceedings until February 12," Judge Kostyantyn Sadovsky said in pronouncing the ruling.
Tymoshenko's supporters attending the court hearing responded to the judge's words by shouting 'Shame'.
When the court was deciding whether the hearing could take place in the defendant's absence, the prosecutor said this was impossible.
Tymoshenko's defense lawyers said she was absent because of health problems and asked the court to immediately consider her request that the case against her be dropped because of the absence of corpus delicti in her actions.
The judge said in his resolution that the defense's requests would be considered at the relevant stage of the proceedings.
Ihor Kolpashchykov, the chief of the penitentiary in Kharkiv, where Tymoshenko is formally serving her prison term, said earlier that she submitted a written statement refusing to go to court to attend the trial.
Tymoshenko's defender Serhiy Vlasenko made public Tymoshenko's open letter to President Viktor Yanukovych on January 8, in which she announced the start of a personal civil disobedience campaign, including her refusal to talk with investigators and prosecutors or to go to court voluntarily, and she promised she would offer physical resistance if attempts were made to force her to go. Tymoshenko also refused to return to her hospital room as long as it is under video surveillance and as long as security guards are deployed there round-the-clock.
The ex-prime minister has been indicted on five counts under the UESU case, i.e. the organization of large-scale embezzlement of government assets in 1997-1998 through illegal VAT refund (Criminal Code Articles 27, Part 3, and 191, Part 5), attempted large-scale misappropriation of government assets in 1997-1998 through illegal VAT refund (Criminal Code Articles 27, Part 3, 15, Part 2, and 191, Part 5), failure to pay corporate tax (Article 27, Part 3, and 212, Part 3), failure to pay income tax (Article 212, Part 3), and official forgery (Article 27, Part 3, and 366, Part 2).
The preliminary hearing on the case took place without Tymoshenko on April 19, 2012, Since then, the court has repeatedly postponed the hearing of the case on its merits as Tymoshenko has refused to take part in the hearings, even through a video link due, to health problems,.
Kyiv's Pechersky District Court earlier found Tymoshenko guilty of abuse of office in signing gas supply contracts with Russia in 2009 and sentenced her to 7 years in prison on October 11, 2011. Tymoshenko has been serving her term at the Kharkiv penitentiary since the end of December 2011. At the present time, she is undergoing a treatment course at Central Clinical Hospital No. 5.