16th May 2012
The images are powerful. A woman prisoner displays bruises which she says were caused by mistreatment by prison guards. Allegations by ex-prime minister Yuliya Tymoshenko that she was physically mistreated by prison guards, followed by counter-claims by prison authorities that this never happened, have caused controversy in the rest of Europe. In an intense cycle […]
13th December 2011
‘Surely,’ my Ukrainian interlocutor says, ‘you must accept that Tymoshenko is guilty of something, even if it’s impossible to prove. Everybody knows it. Look how many things she is being charged with.’ ‘But without a credible legal process,’ I say, ‘the charges are meaningless. Adding more and more charges simply makes the legal process look […]
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13th October 2011
This week, for almost the first time since I arrived in Ukraine in June 2008, Ukraine has been the number one item on the BBC World News website and in other media around the world. Friends have been getting in touch to ask me what’s going on, and where Ukraine is going. It’s an important […]
12th October 2011
Following the verdict in the Tymoshenko trial, the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said: “The conviction of the Ukrainian opposition politician, Yuliya Tymoshenko, by a court in Kyiv is deeply concerning. Independent legal experts including the Danish Helsinki Committee have concluded that Ms Tymoshenko’s trial was subject to numerous and serious violations of fundamental legal principles, […]
20th September 2011
The tiger is gigantic, looming against a glowing golden background. Behind it, cubs frolic. Near the work, Tiger Club by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, Ukrainian and foreign politicians including President Victor Yanukovych, Israeli President Shimon Peres and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair engage at the 8th annual Yalta European Strategy Forum (YES) “Ukraine and […]