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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 165 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 165

Calling for the release from prison of former Prime Minister of Ukraine 
Yulia Tymoshenko in light of the recent European Court of Human Rights 
                                ruling.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 10, 2013

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Barrasso, and Mr. 
 Murphy) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Calling for the release from prison of former Prime Minister of Ukraine 
Yulia Tymoshenko in light of the recent European Court of Human Rights 
                                ruling.

Whereas, in August 1991, the Ukrainian Parliament declared independence from the 
        Soviet Union and approved decrees to mint its own currency and take 
        command of all Soviet military units on its soil;
Whereas, in December 1991, 90 percent of Ukrainians voted in a referendum to 
        support independence from the Soviet Union;
Whereas Ukraine has experienced increased economic and political cooperation 
        with Europe and the United States since its independence from the Soviet 
        Union;
Whereas, in 1996, Ukraine adopted its first democratic constitution that 
        included basic freedoms of speech, assembly, religion, and press;
Whereas, in 2004, Ukrainians organized a series of historic protests, strikes, 
        and sit-ins known as the ``Orange Revolution'' to protest electoral 
        fraud in the 2004 presidential election;
Whereas Yulia Tymoshenko was a leader of the Orange Revolution and was first 
        elected as Prime Minister in 2005;
Whereas, in the 2010 presidential election, incumbent President Viktor 
        Yushchenko won only 5.5 percent in the first round of voting, which left 
        former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and then Prime Minister Yulia 
        Tymoshenko to face one another in a run-off election;
Whereas Mr. Yanukovich defeated Ms. Tymoshenko by a margin of 49 percent to 44 
        percent;
Whereas, on October 11, 2011, Ms. Tymoshenko was found guilty and sentenced to 
        seven years in prison on charges that she abused her position as Prime 
        Minister in connection with a Russian natural gas contract;
Whereas, on January 26, 2012, the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe 
        (PACE) passed a resolution (1862) that declared that the articles under 
        which Ms. Tymoshenko was convicted were ``overly broad in application 
        and effectively allow for ex post facto criminalization of normal 
        political decision making'';
Whereas, on May 30, 2012, the European Parliament passed a resolution (C153/21) 
        deploring the sentencing of Ms. Tymoshenko;
Whereas, on September 22, 2012, the United States Senate passed a resolution (S. 
        Res. 466, 112th Congress) that condemned the selective and politically 
        motivated prosecution and imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko, called for 
        her release, and called on the Department of State to institute a visa 
        ban against those responsible for the imprisonment of Ms. Tymoshenko and 
        the other political leaders associated with the 2004 Orange Revolution;
Whereas, on April 7, 2013, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich pardoned 
        former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko and several other opposition 
        figures allied with Ms. Tymoshenko;
Whereas, on April 30, 2013, the European Court of Human Rights, which settles 
        cases of rights abuses after plaintiffs have exhausted appeals in their 
        home country courts, ruled that Ms. Tymoshenko's pre-trial detention had 
        been arbitrary; that the lawfulness of her detention had not been 
        properly reviewed; that her right to liberty had been restricted; and, 
        that she had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful 
        deprivation of liberty;
Whereas, on April 30, 2013, Department of State Spokesman Patrick Ventrell 
        reiterated the United States call that Ms. Tymoshenko ``be released and 
        that the practice of selective prosecution end immediately'' in light of 
        the European Court of Human Rights decision;
Whereas Ukraine hopes to sign an association agreement with the European Union 
        during the Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2013; and
Whereas, after the European Court of Human Rights ruling, European Parliament 
        Committee on Foreign Affairs chairman Elmar Brok stated that ``Ukraine 
        is still miles away from fulfilling European standards'' and must ``end 
        its selective justice'' before signing the association agreement: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls on the Government of Ukraine to release former 
        Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from imprisonment in light of 
        the April 2013 European Court of Human Rights verdict;
            (2) calls on the European Union members to include the 
        release of Ms. Tymoshenko from imprisonment as an important 
        criterion for signing an association agreement with Ukraine at 
        the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Lithuania;
            (3) expresses its belief and hope that Ukraine's future 
        rests with stronger ties to Europe, the United States, and 
        others in the community of democracies; and
            (4) expresses its concern and disappointment that the 
        continued selective and politically motivated imprisonment of 
        former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko unnecessarily detracts 
        from Ukraine's otherwise strong relationship with Europe, the 
        United States, and the community of democracies.
                                 <all>
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