The case of Yulia Tymoshenko has no political basis, and the accusation of persecution is more of a “line of defense.”
This was stated by the head of NABU, Semen Kryvonos, in an interview with Suspilny.
He stated that accusations of political persecution are a typical defense tactic. According to him, the bureau does not distinguish between those involved in cases based on political affiliation and holds both government and opposition representatives accountable.
“If a person is involved in corruption crimes, we will hold them accountable. The court's conviction or acquittal should put an end to this discussion,” the head of NABU noted.
At the same time, the head of the bureau drew attention to possible attempts to influence experts and officials involved in conducting expert examinations. According to Kryvonos, there are signals of attempts to “talk” to representatives of certain institutions, in particular the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“We will still verify this information, but there are already signals about attempts to exert pressure and somehow talk to certain officials, with experts regarding the examination in this criminal proceeding,” he added.
When asked whether this was pressure from Yulia Tymoshenko herself, the head of NABU replied that he could not say so, but emphasized that any interference in the activities of experts is unacceptable.