Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 June 2013
70. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which, at EU and UN level, the detention of Yulia Tymoshenko continues to be monitored; if any action has been taken in the context of international human rights with a view to bringing about her release; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31123/13]
View answerThe ongoing detention of Ms Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, is being monitored closely by Ireland, the European Union and the wider international community. I refer the Deputy to my previous replies of 20 February and 16 May on the matter. Concerns regarding this case, which have been repeatedly expressed by Ireland and its partners, were borne out by the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on 30 April 2013, which ruled that Ms Tymoshenko had been unlawfully detained. As the Deputy is aware, High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Stefan Füle issued a joint statement in response to this judgment, which urged the Ukrainian authorities to reconsider Ms Tymoshenko’s imprisonment and to implement fully all rulings of the ECHR.
The EU’s position, as set out in the Conclusions of the 10 December 2012 Foreign Affairs Council and in the joint statement of the EU-Ukraine Summit of 25 February 2013, is clear: that Ukraine must address the issue of selective justice convincingly if progress is to be made towards signature of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November. The European Parliament’s monitoring mission to Ukraine, which is led by the former President of Poland, Mr Aleksander Kwaœniewski, and the former President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, has been engaging actively with the Ukrainian authorities. While there have been some positive developments, including the release of former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko in April, Ireland would very much like to see further steps taken by the Ukrainian authorities that would make signature of the Association Agreement possible, including, crucially, addressing the issue of selective justice.
