Kristiina Ojuland, author. – Mr President, we are not here today to judge the actual innocence or guilt of Yulia Tymoshenko. It has gone well beyond that point because the Ukrainian authorities have overlooked the correct legal procedures and taken measures that violate the rule of law.

We protest against the elimination of political opponents in Ukraine with the help of the judicial system. Defendants must be granted their legal rights, as enshrined in law, and the measures taken against them must be proportionate to the nature and gravity of the crimes that they have been accused of.

The purpose of this resolution is to draw the attention of the Ukrainian authorities to some apparent breaches of the rule of law which have distanced Ukraine from European values, and which, if they become commonplace, would curtail their country’s prospects of future European integration.