III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 466 

Calling for the release from prison of former Prime Minister of Ukraine 

Yulia Tymoshenko. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2012 

Mr. INHOFE 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. 

Whereas Ukraine has experienced encouraging growth and 

reforms since it declared its independence from the 

former Soviet Union in 1991 and adopted its first constitution in 1996; 

Whereas the 1996 constitution provided basic freedoms like 

the freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and press, but 

was ultimately too weak to contain the existing corruption-laced political culture inherited from its communist 

past; 

Whereas, as a result of the electoral fraud by which Mr. 

Yanukovych was declared the winner, the citizens of the 

Ukraine organized a series of protests, strikes, and sitVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:12 May 18, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR466.IS SR466

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•SRES 466 IS 

ins, which came to be known as ‘‘The Orange Revolution’’; 

Whereas the Orange Revolution, in concert with United 

States and international pressure, forced the Supreme 

Court of Ukraine to require an unprecedented second 

run-off election, which resulted in opposition leader Mr. 

Yushchenko defeating Mr. Yanukovych by a margin of 52 

percent to 44 percent; 

Whereas, in the 2010 presidential election, incumbent 

Yushchenko won only 5.5 percent in the first round of 

voting, which left former Prime Minister Yanukovych and 

then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to face one another in the run-off election; 

Whereas, Mr. Yanukovych defeated Ms. Tymoshenko by a 

margin of 49 percent to 44 percent; 

Whereas, shortly after the 2010 inauguration of Mr. 

Yanukovych, the Ukrainian Constitutional Court found 

most of the 2004 Orange Revolution inspired constitutional reforms unconstitutional; 

Whereas, in 2010, President Yanukovych appointed Viktor 

Pshonka Prosecutor General, equivalent to the United 

States Attorney General; 

Whereas, since Mr. Pshonka’s appointment, more than a 

dozen political leaders associated with the 2004 Orange 

Revolution have faced criminal charges under the Abuse 

of Office and Exceeding Official Powers articles of the 

Ukrainian Criminal Code; 

Whereas, in 2011, Prosecutor General Pshonka brought 

charges under these Abuse of Office articles against 

former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko over her deciVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:12 May 18, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR466.IS SR466

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•SRES 466 IS 

sion while in office to conclude a natural gas contract between Ukraine and Russia; 

Whereas, on October 11, 2011, Tymoshenko was found guilty 

and sentenced to seven years in prison, fined 

$189,000,000, and banned from holding public office for 

three years; 

Whereas, recognizing the judicial abuses present in Ukraine, 

the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) 

passed Resolution 1862 on January 26, 2012; 

Whereas Resolution 1862 declared that the Abuse of Office 

and Exceeding Official Powers articles under which 

Tymoshenko was convicted are ‘‘overly broad in application and effectively allow for ex post facto criminalization 

of normal political decision making’’; 

Whereas, since Ms. Tymoshenko’s imprisonment, the Prosecutor General’s Office has reopened additional cases 

against her that were previously closed and thought to be 

sealed under a ten-year statute of limitations; 

Whereas, on October 28, 2011, the Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General alleged in a television interview that Ms. 

Tymoshenko was involved in contract killings, tax evasion, bribery, and embezzlement; 

Whereas, at the time of the Deputy Prosecutor’s public allegations, no formal charges were filed, thereby violating 

Ms. Tymoshenko’s right to ‘‘presumed innocence’’ guaranteed by Article 6(2) of the European Convention on 

Human Rights; 

Whereas, since August 5, 2011, Ms. Tymoshenko has languished in a prison cell in Ukraine with limited outside 

contact and access to needed medical treatment; 


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•SRES 466 IS 

Whereas the denial of proper medical assistance has left Ms. 

Tymoshenko in a failing state of health; 

Whereas international calls for Ms. Tymoshenko’s release, access to outside visitors, and adequate medical treatment 

have been ignored even as her health continues to deteriorate; 

Whereas, on April 28, 2012, major international news organizations, including the British Broadcast Corporation and 

Reuters, reported on and produced photos of bruises received by Ms. Tymoshenko during an apparent beating by 

prison guards on April 20, 2012; 

Whereas, in response to her inhumane treatment, Ms. 

Tymoshenko began a hunger strike on April 20, 2012; 

Whereas, amid international outrage, the European Union 

has delayed indefinitely the signing of a free trade agreement with Ukraine, and the member countries of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe currently are deliberating whether to allow Ukraine to assume the chairmanship of the organization, which has 

been scheduled for 2013; and 

Whereas, under international pressure, Ms. Tymoshenko was 

moved to a hospital in Kharkiv on May 9, 2012, prompting her to end her hunger strike: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the administration of President 

3 Viktor Yanukovych for the politically motivated im4 prisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia 

5 Tymoshenko; 


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•SRES 466 IS 

1 (2) calls on the Yanukovych administration to 

2 release Ms. Tymoshenko immediately for medical 

3 reasons; 

4 (3) urges the Organization for Security and Co5 operation in Europe not to recognize Ukraine’s 

6 scheduled 2013 chairmanship of the Organization 

7 until the release of Ms. Tymoshenko; 

8 (4) urges the Department of State to withdraw 

9 the United States Ambassador to the Ukraine and 

10 suspend operations at the United States Embassy in 

11 Kiev until the release of Ms. Tymoshenko; 

12 (5) calls on the Department of State to insti13 tute a visa ban against President Yanukovych, Pros14 ecutor General Viktor Pshonka, and other officials 

15 responsible for Ms. Tymoshenko’s imprisonment; 

16 and 

17 (6) calls on the North Atlantic Treaty Organi18 zation to suspend all cooperative agreements with 

19 Ukraine and place Ukraine on indefinite probation 

20 with regard to its Distinctive Partnership with the 

21 Organization until the release of Ms. Tymoshenko. 

Æ 


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