[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 71 (Thursday, May 17, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3287-S3288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 466--CALLING FOR THE RELEASE FROM PRISON OF FORMER 
               PRIME MINISTER OF UKRAINE YULIA TYMOSHENKO

  Mr. INHOFE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 466

       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;

[[Page S3288]]

       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
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the administration of President Viktor 
     Yanukovych for the politically motivated imprisonment of 
     former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko;
       (2) calls on the Yanukovych administration to release Ms. 
     Tymoshenko immediately for medical reasons;
       (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;
       (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;
       (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
       (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.

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