Tymoshenko to sue Ukraine’s leader over murder link accusation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko will sue President Viktor Yanukovych over an accusation of involvement in the 1996 murder of prominent politician Yevhen Shcherban, her lawyer said on Monday, June 18, RIA Novosti reported.

Serhiy Vlasenko said the claims were "absurd" and vowed to take Yanukovych to court.

Shcherban, a powerful businessman, was shot dead with his wife at an airport in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking to the Bloomberg news agency last week, Yanukovych - Tymoshenko's arch-rival who narrowly defeated her in the 2010 presidential run-off - said the killing was carried out with the participation of the former prime minister.

"This isn't a secret for the whole world - this happened. Including Shcherban's murder. There were motives." he said.

Earlier on Monday, Ukraine's deputy prosecutor Renat Kuzmin said there was evidence that Tymoshenko and former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko paid for the murder.

But Tymoshenko, who was jailed for seven years in October 2011 for overstepping her authority as prime minister in signing a 2009 gas deal with Russia, has dismissed any link with the murder.

In April, Shcherban's convicted murderer said he was under pressure to give false testimony implicating Tymoshenko.

The United States, the European Union and Russia have condemned Tymoshenko's conviction.

Tymoshenko denies wrongdoing and says her trial was political revenge by President Yanukovych.