Press Releases
|
|
|
Print this page |
STATEMENT BY SENATORS McCAIN AND LIEBERMAN ON THE SENTENCING OF YULIA TYMOSHENKO
October 11, 2011
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) today released the following statement regarding the sentencing today of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seven years in prison:
“With the sentencing today of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seven years in prison, the Ukrainian government under President Yanukovich has reached an alarming new low in the deterioration of democracy and rule of law. Today’s verdict was the product of a politically-motivated trial that did not meet international standards, aimed at silencing a member of the opposition. For that reason, it is about far more than the fate of one Ukrainian leader. It goes directly to the question of whether the Ukrainian government respects basic human rights and its international commitments, and whether Ukrainian citizens receive equal treatment under the law.
“It is now more important than ever for the United States and our European allies to work together to make clear to the Ukrainian government that the benefits of Euro-Atlantic integration will not be available to Ukraine so long as it violates the values of freedom, political pluralism, and the rule of law that lie at the heart of the Euro-Atlantic community.”
###