Ukraine Lawmakers Vote to Free Jailed Ex-Prime Minister Tymoshenko

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Opposition supporters, one holding a portrait of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko shout, slogans during a rally in the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014.

Image: Sergei Chuzavkov/Associated Press

By Christopher Miller2014-02-21 20:09:05 UTC

KIEV, Ukraine — In a move that elicited cheers outside on Independence Square and inside the Ukrainian Parliament, lawmakers on Friday voted to allow the release of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, an opposition leader and arch-rival of embattled President Viktor Yanukovych.

The surprise vote came hours after Yanukovych and opposition leaders signed a deal aimed at defusing the three-month long anti-government protests. The agreement allows for early elections, reduces the powers of the president by restoring the country’s 2004 constitution and creates a coalition government.

A majority 310 members of parliament from all factions, including communists, voted in favor of the law which would free Tymoshenko. The move would decriminalize the article of the criminal code under which she was jailed in 2011 for abuse of office in a trial viewed by the West and Russia as politically motivated.

The law now must be signed by the parliamentary speaker and the president for it to take effect.

Taras Berezovets, a political consultant who once worked with Tymoshenko, said that Yanukovych has 15 days to sign the law. He said there is a chance Yanukovych will not sign the law.

If that happens, Tymoshenko could still be released due to the 310 votes cast by deputies in favor of her release, which is enough to override a veto. Once the law is printed in the government newspaper, Holos Ukrainy, a Kiev court could order her release.

While the former prime minister is a popular political figure and legally would be allowed to run for president in upcoming elections, some believe she is unlikely to participate, due to her poor health. She has suffered from back problems during her more than two years behind bars. She has asked the government of Ukraine to allow her to be sent to Germany for medical treatment on numerous occasions, but to no avail.

Serhiy Vlasenko, her lawyer, told the Kyiv Post newspaper that she can hardly walk and will need months to rest upon her release.

Tymoshenko lost a presidential runoff against Yanukovych in 2010 by just 3.5 percentage points.

Despite her ailing health, Berezovets, who worked with Tymosehnko from 2007-2010, believes the determined ex-premier will jump in the race.

“She definitely will,” he said. “She wants revenge. And she is the best candidate for this job.”

Timothy Ash, head of research for emerging markets at Standard Bank in London, called today's developments – reducing presidential powers and transferring them to the legislature; presidential elections by December and the release of Tymoshenko – as creating "staggering momentum now in Ukraine."

"This will create some short term euphoria," Ash said. "But Russia's reactions remains key and critical still. It seems evident that Western assistance will now be forthcoming for the new administration – they may even sign the association agreement and free trade agreement with the European Union."