The trial of the second case of former head of the government of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko has begun in Kharkov. She is accused of abuse of power and financial crimes in the 90s. Then she headed the Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine corporation. Correspondent of the Kommersant Ukraine newspaper Sergei Sidorenko told the details to presenter Alexey Korneev.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, the politician spent huge amounts of money on luxury goods, caroused in restaurants and lived in expensive hotels. Ms. Tymoshenko was not present at the meeting due to serious health problems.

–– We are waiting for details from you: what happened at the meeting today?

–– Since the preliminary hearing is only taking place, it is too early to talk about any results. Tymoshenko's defenders are speaking today. She has four of them, so this process takes quite a long time. Several petitions from Tymoshenko's defense have already been considered, most of the consideration is still ahead.

As would be expected, Tymoshenko’s defense stated that the process has a political overtones, that Tymoshenko is actually being persecuted not for the sins that were or were not committed in the 90s, but for her activities as prime minister and as leader of the opposition in modern times.

So far, it can be stated that the court is rejecting Tymoshenko’s petitions, in particular, the court did not allow the prosecutor to be removed from the case, the court refused to transfer the hearing of the case to other courts, which the defense requested, and there is still no clarity about how a decision will be made on petition for media access to the trial.

The fact is that at the moment only the so-called writing press was allowed into the courtroom, that is, newspapers and news agencies, television crews were prohibited from bringing cameras, and photographers were also not allowed. The judge refuses to consider requests on this matter, he says that he will consider it later, after hearing all the arguments of the defense.

– What is known today about the health of Yulia Tymoshenko? What condition is she in?

–– You know, just yesterday the news feeds were full of news about what the German doctors who examined Tymoshenko think about her health. But at the same time, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has not yet received an official conclusion from the doctors themselves. In general, no one has any doubts that Tymoshenko is sick, that she has health problems, even the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the Ukrainian prison service, because, as you know, the Ukrainian authorities offered Tymoshenko treatment in one from Kharkov hospitals. A healthy person is not offered treatment. At the same time, how serious this disease is, the points of view of Ukrainians and Germans on this issue differ. It is also not entirely clear what will happen with Tymoshenko’s consent or refusal to this treatment in the Kharkov hospital.

The fact is that German doctors in interviews with the media stated that they consider the Kharkov hospital to be quite suitable for treatment in terms of medical parameters. But this is what we read in their interviews. There were no official statements or official papers from them themselves. And at the same time, when these same German doctors were in Kharkov, they said that despite the good conditions, that is, medical equipment, there were other problems. In particular, Tymoshenko's relatives oppose her treatment in Ukraine and insist on transporting Tymoshenko to Germany.

"The court rejects Tymoshenko's petitions"