MUNICH (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pressing Ukrainian authorities to quickly resolve the criminal case brought against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (YOOL’-yah tee-moh-SHEN’-koh).
She says Washington is troubled by the selective prosecution of opposition figures in Ukraine.
A senior U.S. official said Clinton raised the case in a meeting with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych (yah-noo-KOH’-vich) on Saturday in Munich. The official said Clinton expressed concern over Tymoshenko, her health and the conditions of confinement, after her daughter told U.S. lawmakers this week that her mother is being tortured in prison.
Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence on charges of abuse of office. She was convicted of overstepping her authority while negotiating a natural gas contract with Russia in 2009. Her allies say the charges are political vengeance.
