Tymoshenko asset arrest: HACC announces pause
The closed session in the case of People's Deputy and leader of the Batkivshchyna faction Yulia Tymoshenko has ended at the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). The agenda includes consideration of the SAPO prosecutor's motion to seize the suspect's property. The court announced a recess until 1:30 p.m. on January 20.
At the beginning of the meeting, the central topic was the defense's doubts about the legality of the formation of the court. Yulia Tymoshenko stated that the system of NABU, SAPO, and HACC acts as "a single mechanism of political repression."
The suspect's main argument was the allegation of possible interference in the automatic judge assignment system. According to Tymoshenko, the prosecutor allegedly knew the name of the presiding judge even before the system officially assigned the case.
This means that both the previous composition of the court and this composition of the court are illegal. And therefore all the decisions that were made as a result of this are illegal. We are not disqualifying ourselves now, because we are preparing detailed documents for an appeal to the PACE Monitoring Committee and an appeal.
Detective Mykhailo Tsombar petitioned the court to hold the hearing in closed session, citing the need to protect the secrecy of the investigation and personal data. The judge supported this decision. Tymoshenko's lawyers Maksym Soroka and Oleksandr Gotin categorically opposed this.
The defense is against it because we want the whole country to see what is really happening in this process.
The defense argued its position by saying that publicity is the only safeguard against a "trial," and concealing the process only confirms its commissioned nature.
Previously, the defense emphasized the publicity of the trial and denied the validity of the suspicion, calling the case a "political order." Tymoshenko claimed during the hearings that the funds seized during the searches were "family savings," and that work documents and phones were seized without proper grounds.
As a reminder, NABU has charged Yulia Tymoshenko with bribery.
We also reported that more than UAH 50 million in bail was paid for People's Deputies Negulevsky and Laba.
