Baird Welcomes European Court’s Ruling on Tymoshenko

April 30, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:

“Canada joins the European Court of Human Rights in condemning in the strongest terms the unlawful and arbitrary pre-trial detention of Yulia Tymoshenko by Ukrainian authorities in 2011.

“With this ruling, the European Court of Human Rights sends a clear message that court proceedings in Ukraine fell short of internationally recognized norms of fairness, transparency and due process.

“I have publicly and repeatedly raised Canada’s concerns about the apparent political bias and arbitrary prosecution, seen in this and other cases, which seriously hamper Ukraine’s democratic development. We continue to call on the Ukrainian government to strengthen judicial independence in the country. This is vital to the peaceful, democratic and prosperous society that Ukrainians are striving to build, and Canada will continue to support their efforts in this direction.”