Alexander Gorobets: Ukraine’s ex-prime-minister Timoshenko got into traffic accident. Court is to resume investigation of her case

One of the opposition leaders of Ukraine, Ex-Prime-Minister Yulia Timoshenko got into a traffic accident early on January 29. According to provisional data, she has got head and chest injuries. She has been taken to hospital in Feofania.

The Ex-Prime-Minister was on her way to a sitting to the Kiev Court of appeal. Timoshenko’s auto bumped into a training VAZ-2101 car. Only Yulia Timoshenko and her driver were in the car. The driver suffered less, as the car was hit to the right side where the passenger sat. The driver of VAZ-2101 was taken to hospital with a concussion of the brain.

Head of the PR department in the Ukrainian Ministry for Internal Affairs Alexander Zarubitsky told PRAVDA.Ru journalist, the provisional investigation discovered that the driver of Timoshenko’s Mercedes-500 broke the traffic rules that resulted in the accident.

But the witnesses of the accident say, it was VAZ-2101 driver who broke the traffic rules, they also say, the Mercedes air cushions did not work, and Yulia Timoshenko was seriously injured. The driver of Mercedes also says, the VAZ-2101 driver was guilty of the accident.

At the time when Yulia Timoshenko was being transported to the hospital, the Kiev Court of Appeal started consideration of the claim of the Public Prosecutor on cancellation of the previous decision of the Pechera court in Kiev. The decision prohibited the General Office of Public Prosecutor to apply any investigation actions to Yulia Timoshenko. The Pechera court also reversed the written undertaking not to leave the place signed by Yulia Timoshenko. But the Court of appeal decided to allow the claim of the Public Prosecutor and declared the written undertaking valid again. Law enforcement authorities may resume the investigation activities concerning Yulia Timoshenko.

The Kiev Court of appeal considered the case in Yulia Timoshenko’s absence. It was decided, the Pechera court of Kiev had gone beyond its commission, that could have been considered a suspension of the case examination.

Thus, the Prosecutor’s Office accuses Yulia Timoshenko of forgery of important documents and large-scale tax evasion. The forgery of documents was used for the contraband of Russian natural gas to the sum of 445 million hryvnas through Ukraine’s border.

When the material was being prepared for publication, we knew some details of the accident. Yulia Timoshenko was unconscious when the ambulance car took her from the accident site. Head physician of the hospital Vladimir Sviridov says, the provisional diagnosis is a concussion of the brain and chest injury. The suffered will have to undergo hospital treatment.

Timoshenko’s coalition disliked the decision of the Court of appeal about recommencement of the investigation activities against Yulia Timoshenko. The coalition considers the court decision biased and groundless. The court is said to be hampering the coalition and its leader from meetings with the population. The coalition itself says, such things happen because of its increasing authority among the people. Members of the coalition are surprised at the court’s disregard of the situation that prevented Yulia Timoshenko’s coming to the court. The justice has taken a rather cynical and inhumane position towards the Ex-Prime-Minister.

Alexander Gorobets PRAVDA.Ru Kiev Ukraine

Translated by Maria Gousseva

In the photo: Yulia Timoshenko

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