[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 466 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 526
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 466
Calling for the release from prison of former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Yulia Tymoshenko.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 17, 2012
Mr. Inhofe (for himself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Casey) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
September 19, 2012
Reported by Mr. Kerry, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling for the release from prison of former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Yulia Tymoshenko.
<DELETED>Whereas Ukraine has experienced encouraging growth and reforms since it
declared its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991 and
adopted its first constitution in 1996;
Whereas the 1996 constitution provided basic freedoms like the freedom of
speech, assembly, religion, and press, but was ultimately too weak to
contain the existing corruption-laced political culture inherited from
its communist past;
Whereas, as a result of the electoral fraud by which Mr. Yanukovych was declared
the winner, the citizens of the Ukraine organized a series of protests,
strikes, and sit-ins, which came to be known as ``The Orange
Revolution'';
Whereas the Orange Revolution, in concert with United States and international
pressure, forced the Supreme Court of Ukraine to require an
unprecedented second run-off election, which resulted in opposition
leader Mr. Yushchenko defeating Mr. Yanukovych by a margin of 52 percent
to 44 percent;
Whereas, in the 2010 presidential election, incumbent Yushchenko won only 5.5
percent in the first round of voting, which left former Prime Minister
Yanukovych and then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to face one another
in the run-off election;
Whereas, Mr. Yanukovych defeated Ms. Tymoshenko by a margin of 49 percent to 44
percent;
Whereas, shortly after the 2010 inauguration of Mr. Yanukovych, the Ukrainian
Constitutional Court found most of the 2004 Orange Revolution inspired
constitutional reforms unconstitutional;
Whereas, in 2010, President Yanukovych appointed Viktor Pshonka Prosecutor
General, equivalent to the United States Attorney General;
Whereas, since Mr. Pshonka's appointment, more than a dozen political leaders
associated with the 2004 Orange Revolution have faced criminal charges
under the Abuse of Office and Exceeding Official Powers articles of the
Ukrainian Criminal Code;
Whereas, in 2011, Prosecutor General Pshonka brought charges under these Abuse
of Office articles against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko over
her decision while in office to conclude a natural gas contract between
Ukraine and Russia;
Whereas, on October 11, 2011, Tymoshenko was found guilty and sentenced to seven
years in prison, fined $189,000,000, and banned from holding public
office for three years;
Whereas, recognizing the judicial abuses present in Ukraine, the Parliamentary
Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) passed Resolution 1862 on January 26,
2012;
Whereas Resolution 1862 declared that the Abuse of Office and Exceeding Official
Powers articles under which Tymoshenko was convicted are ``overly broad
in application and effectively allow for ex post facto criminalization
of normal political decision making'';
Whereas, since Ms. Tymoshenko's imprisonment, the Prosecutor General's Office
has reopened additional cases against her that were previously closed
and thought to be sealed under a ten-year statute of limitations;
Whereas, on October 28, 2011, the Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General alleged in
a television interview that Ms. Tymoshenko was involved in contract
killings, tax evasion, bribery, and embezzlement;
Whereas, at the time of the Deputy Prosecutor's public allegations, no formal
charges were filed, thereby violating Ms. Tymoshenko's right to
``presumed innocence'' guaranteed by Article 6(2) of the European
Convention on Human Rights;
Whereas, since August 5, 2011, Ms. Tymoshenko has languished in a prison cell in
Ukraine with limited outside contact and access to needed medical
treatment;
Whereas the denial of proper medical assistance has left Ms. Tymoshenko in a
failing state of health;
Whereas international calls for Ms. Tymoshenko's release, access to outside
visitors, and adequate medical treatment have been ignored even as her
health continues to deteriorate;
Whereas, on April 28, 2012, major international news organizations, including
the British Broadcast Corporation and Reuters, reported on and produced
photos of bruises received by Ms. Tymoshenko during an apparent beating
by prison guards on April 20, 2012;
Whereas, in response to her inhumane treatment, Ms. Tymoshenko began a hunger
strike on April 20, 2012;
Whereas, amid international outrage, the European Union has delayed indefinitely
the signing of a free trade agreement with Ukraine, and the member
countries of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
currently are deliberating whether to allow Ukraine to assume the
chairmanship of the organization, which has been scheduled for 2013; and
Whereas, under international pressure, Ms. Tymoshenko was moved to a hospital in
Kharkiv on May 9, 2012, prompting her to end her hunger strike: Now,
therefore, be it
</DELETED>Whereas Ukraine has experienced encouraging growth and reforms since
it declared its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991 and
adopted its first constitution in 1996;
Whereas the 1996 constitution provided basic freedoms like the freedom of
speech, assembly, religion, and press, but was ultimately too weak to
contain the existing corruption-laced political culture inherited from
its communist past;
Whereas, as a result of the electoral fraud by which Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych was declared the winner of the 2004 presidential election,
the citizens of the Ukraine organized a series of protests, strikes, and
sit-ins, which came to be known as ``The Orange Revolution'';
Whereas the Orange Revolution, in concert with international pressure, forced an
unprecedented second run-off election, which resulted in opposition
leader Viktor Yushchenko defeating Mr. Yanukovych by a margin of 52
percent to 44 percent;
Whereas, in the 2010 presidential election, incumbent Yushchenko won only 5.5
percent in the first round of voting, which left former Prime Minister
Yanukovych and then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to face one another
in the run-off election;
Whereas, Mr. Yanukovych defeated Ms. Tymoshenko by a margin of 49 percent to 44
percent;
Whereas, shortly after the 2010 inauguration of Mr. Yanukovych, the Ukrainian
Constitutional Court found most of the 2004 Orange Revolution inspired
constitutional reforms unconstitutional;
Whereas, in 2010, President Yanukovych appointed Viktor Pshonka Prosecutor
General;
Whereas, since Mr. Pshonka's appointment, more than a dozen political leaders
associated with the 2004 Orange Revolution have faced criminal charges
under the Abuse of Office and Exceeding Official Powers articles of the
Ukrainian Criminal Code;
Whereas, in 2011, Prosecutor General Pshonka brought charges under these Abuse
of Office articles against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko over
her decision while in office to conclude a natural gas contract between
Ukraine and Russia;
Whereas, on October 11, 2011, Ms. Tymoshenko was found guilty and sentenced to
seven years in prison, fined $189,000,000, and banned from holding
public office for three years following the completion of her sentence;
Whereas, recognizing the judicial abuses present in Ukraine, the Parliamentary
Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) passed Resolution 1862 on January 26,
2012;
Whereas Resolution 1862 declared that the Abuse of Office and Exceeding Official
Powers articles under which Ms. Tymoshenko was convicted are ``overly
broad in application and effectively allow for ex post facto
criminalization of normal political decision making'';
Whereas, since Ms. Tymoshenko's imprisonment, the Prosecutor General's Office
has reopened additional cases against her that were previously closed
and thought to be sealed under a 10-year statute of limitations;
Whereas, beginning on October 28, 2011, and multiple times since, Ukrainian
Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin has alleged in television
interviews that Tymoshenko was involved in contract killings, but has
filed no formal charges;
Whereas, for much of Ms. Tymoshenko's detention, she had limited outside contact
and access to needed medical treatment;
Whereas international calls for Ms. Tymoshenko's release, access to outside
visitors, and adequate medical treatment were initially ignored even as
her health continued to deteriorate;
Whereas, on April 28, 2012, major international news organizations, including
the British Broadcast Corporation and Reuters, reported on and produced
photos of bruises allegedly received by Ms. Tymoshenko from prison
guards on April 20, 2012;
Whereas, in response to her inhumane treatment, Ms. Tymoshenko began a hunger
strike on April 20, 2012;
Whereas, amid international outrage, the European Union has delayed indefinitely
the signing of a free trade agreement with Ukraine;
Whereas, under international pressure, Ms. Tymoshenko was moved to a hospital in
Kharkiv on May 9, 2012, prompting her to end her hunger strike, yet
leaving her in poor health; and
Whereas on May 30, 2012, the European Parliament passed a resolution (C153/21)
deploring the sentencing of Ms. Tymoshenko: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, <DELETED>That the Senate--
<DELETED> (1) condemns the administration of President
Viktor Yanukovych for the politically motivated imprisonment of
former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) calls on the Yanukovych administration to
release Ms. Tymoshenko immediately for medical
reasons;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) urges the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe not to recognize Ukraine's scheduled 2013
chairmanship of the Organization until the release of Ms.
Tymoshenko;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) urges the Department of State to withdraw the
United States Ambassador to the Ukraine and suspend operations
at the United States Embassy in Kiev until the release of Ms.
Tymoshenko;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) calls on the Department of State to institute
a visa ban against President Yanukovych, Prosecutor General
Viktor Pshonka, and other officials responsible for Ms.
Tymoshenko's imprisonment; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) calls on the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization to suspend all cooperative agreements with Ukraine
and place Ukraine on indefinite probation with regard to its
Distinctive Partnership with the Organization until the release
of Ms. Tymoshenko.</DELETED>
That the Senate--
(1) condemns the selective and politically motivated
prosecution and imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko;
(2) expresses its deep concern that the politicized
prosecutions and continued detention of Ms. Tymoshenko and
other members of her party took place in a country that is
scheduled to assume chairmanship of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2013;
(3) expresses its deep concern that the continued detention
of Ms. Tymoshenko threatens to jeopardize ties between the
United States and Ukraine;
(4) calls for the Government of Ukraine to release Ms.
Tymoshenko, to provide her with timely access to medical care,
and to conduct the October parliamentary elections in a fair
and transparent manner consistent with OSCE standards; and
(5) calls on the Department of State to institute a visa
ban against those responsible for the imprisonment and
mistreatment of Ms. Tymoshenko and the more than dozen
political leaders associated with the 2004 Orange Revolution.
Calendar No. 526
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 466
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling for the release from prison of former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Yulia Tymoshenko.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 19, 2012
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble