Tymoshenko’s child rallies Europe support ahead of verdict

The daughter of jailed Ukraine opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko urged Europe Tuesday to show stronger support for her mother days ahead of a verdict in her abuse of power trial.

“I have come to ask for more support, to ask them to state their opinions in a stronger way to say that they expect the authorities to revise all the laws that criminalise political decisions,” Yevgenia Carr said at the Council of Europe where she met with political groups and other senior officials.

“We brought some facts to show that the message of Europe has not been heard,” said Carr, Tymoshenko’s only child. “The aim of the regime is to take her out of the political field.”

The court said it would start reading the verdict in the trial on October 11, with the glamorous leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution facing up to seven years behind bars if convicted.

Tymoshenko is on trial for signing gas deals while prime minister with Russia in 2009 that prosecutors say were overly advantageous for Moscow. She lost her job after being defeated by Victor Yanukovych in February 2010 elections.

EU officials say such accusations should never have been brought to court and have raised concern about selective persecution of Tymoshenko and other former allies, including detained former interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko.

The European Union has repeatedly expressed concerns over the case and has piled up the pressure on Yanukovych to free Ukraine’s most colourful politician.