Russian officials demand Tymoshenko be placed on Interpol's "most wanted" list (10/03/04)

Russian officials demand Tymoshenko be placed on Interpol's "most wanted" list

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - A group of Ukrainian parliamentarians from the Our Ukraine and Tymoshenko factions of the Verkhovna Rada sent a petition to the secretary general of Interpol on September 29 requesting that he disregard a demand by Russian law enforcement officials that the international police organization place National Deputy Yulia Tymoshenko on its "most wanted" list.

The message to Interpol General Secretary Richard Noble by members of Parliament pointed to an "illegal demand" placed on the crime agency by the chief prosecutorial office of Russia's military for "exclusively political motives" in pushing for the detainment and transfer to Russia of Ms. Tymoshenko, who is a key member of the Power of the People coalition that supports the presidential candidacy of National Deputy Viktor Yushchenko.

Mr. Yushchenko, who also signed the petition, condemned the move by Russia.

"I regard the [action] as crude interference in Ukrainian affairs and the current electoral process and demand that all these outrages cease immediately," Mr. Yushchenko said on September 28.

Vladimir Samusev, the head of the investigative department of Russia's Main Military Prosecutor's Office, announced on September 23 that a Russian court had ordered that Ms. Tymoshenko should be arrested to face charges, reported Interfax-Ukraine. Mr. Samusev said that the Ukrainian national deputy had been charged with "organizing and bribing Russian officers."

Russian officials have long sought to question Ms. Tymoshenko, founder and former CEO of United Energy Systems, at one time the largest energy-trading firm in Ukraine. The military prosecutor's office in Russia has alleged for years that Ms. Tymoshenko had bribed high-ranking Russian military officials in order to obtain lucrative energy supply contracts. Several years ago at least one general was found guilty of complicity in the matter and was relieved of his command.

Ms. Tymoshenko said on September 24 that she would sue the Russian military prosecutor's office for announcing that it had received agreement from Interpol for an international search to apprehend her, inasmuch as it was illegal to use law enforcement bodies for the repression of political opponents.

She also noted that, according to international convention, "most wanted" lists are for people who have disappeared or escaped from custody after having been charged with crimes. "As you can see, I am here, and yesterday I was 10 kilometers from the Russian border. I can also tell you that I have no intention of hiding in the future," explained Ms. Tymoshenko, who underscored she had never received a summons from the Russian military prosecutor.

She added that she would be ready to speak with them and "answer their questions with great pleasure," should they use proper prosecutorial procedures.

Ms. Tymoshenko accused Russia's President Vladimir Putin of supporting Ukrainian state authorities in their attempts to discredit the oppositionist movement in Ukraine and Mr. Yushchenko's presidential campaign. She said the latest arrest effort is part of an unrelenting effort by the administration of Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma to have her incarcerated and removed as a political threat.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Procurator General's Office verified that it had served Ms. Tymoshenko with a subpoena on September 16. That subpoena, however, does not mean much, inasmuch as Ms. Tymoshenko's status as a national deputy carries with it immunity from criminal prosecution. According to international norms, a foreign court can only petition a citizen of another country to appear to answer to criminal charges by going through the law enforcement structures of the citizen's country.

Only a majority vote of the Verkhovna Rada could lift Ms. Tymoshenko's criminal immunity and allow a process of extradition to Russia to begin, a move the Ukrainian Parliament is unlikely to agree to. The Verkhovna Rada has refused to agree to similar requests from the Ukrainian government in other efforts to prosecute the lawmaker on separate charges brought in Ukraine.

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