Strasbourg Court: Tymoshenko Prosecution Politically Motivated

Ukraine's jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was a politically motivated violation of her rights, Europe's human rights court ruled Tuesday. A Ukrainian ambassador stormed out of the courthouse in response to the ruling in a case that has strained the former Soviet state's ties with Europe and the United States. An architect of Ukraine's 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution who was instantly recognizable by her crown of braids, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2011 after being convicted of exceeding her powers as premier while negotiating a gas contract with Russia. Tymoshenko has said her jailing was intended to keep her out of politics and that her rights were violated when she was first jailed in August 2011. "The court held in particular: that Ms. Tymoshenko's pretrial detention had been arbitrary; that the lawfulness of her detention had not been properly reviewed; and that she had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful deprivation of liberty," according to a press release.The court agreed unanimously that her jailing was "for other reasons" than those permissible by law. There does not appear to be a way to enforce the judgment in Ukraine.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/european-court-rule-ukraines-tymoshenko-19070995#.UX-g5aIoWeQ
http://www.dw.de/european-court-of-human-rights-rules-on-tymoshenko/a-16780591