Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko declared during a court hearing before the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine that Ukraine is under a "fascist regime," while simultaneously denying the charges brought against her.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has imposed measures against former Prime Minister and leader of the Batkivshchina party, Yulia Tymoshenko, who was recently arrested in an action by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), on suspicion of serious corruption.
The court ruled that Tymoshenko be released on bail against a financial guarantee of 33 million hryvnia, or about 655 thousand euros.
According to allegations by NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Tymoshenko is suspected of offering bribes to several Verkhovna Rada deputies from other political factions, in order to vote for or against certain legal proposals.
The NABU statement says that she is a leader of a parliamentary faction who attempted to influence the legislative process through "illegal benefits." If convicted, she faces a prison sentence of five to ten years, as well as possible confiscation of property.
In addition to the financial guarantee, the court has imposed additional measures on Tymoshenko: she is prohibited from leaving the Kiev region without permission from investigators, she is required to wear an electronic bracelet, surrender her passport, and is prohibited from communicating with several dozen deputies.
The former Prime Minister appeared accompanied by her lawyers and representatives of the prosecution.
Before the hearing began, Tymoshenko denied all charges, claiming that "no criminal offense has been committed" and that there are no legal grounds for imposing any measures against her.
In her statement to reporters, she went even further, saying that Ukraine, in her opinion, is under a "fascist regime," thus repeating the narrative that Moscow uses to delegitimize President Volodymyr Zelensky and the current government.
Tymoshenko stressed that she does not plan to leave Ukraine until, as she put it, she is freed from “the gang that has seized power.” She also added that investigators had earlier entered her home at night without a court order, after which her party headquarters were also searched.
"This is 1937," Tymoshenko declared, referring to Stalinist political persecutions.
The former prime minister completely denies the allegations, while some opposition MPs claim that compromising audio recordings exist. European Solidarity MP Oleksiy Honcharenko stated that one of the parliamentarians, who was allegedly offered a bribe, had secretly recorded the conversations and handed the material over to NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. /Telegraph/
