Yevhenia Carr speaks out after the former Ukrainian prime minister was jailed for abuse of office over gas deal
- guardian.co.uk,
- Article history
Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia
Tymoshenko and her daughter Yevhenia Carr, left, listen to the verdict
at Tymoshenko's trial. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA
Nearly every day for the past 10 weeks, Yevhenia Carr has packed
a bag for her visit to Kiev's Lukyanivska prison, filling it with fresh
fruit and packaged food, newspapers and magazines. Inside, she visits Ukraine's most famous political prisoner – her mother, Yulia Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko has called the cold walls of the 150-year-old prison home since 5 August, when she was detained for disrupting the court in the middle of her trial on charges of abusing her power while signing a gas deal with Russia as prime minister in 2009.
Last week, she was found guilty and handed a seven-year sentence, and ordered to pay £120m in damages.
"It's simply a trial of revenge, a trial to show other opponents 'don't come out, don't raise your head, don't try to fight with us'," Carr said by telephone from Kiev, her voice tired and strained.
Carr, 31, sat dutifully by Tymoshenko's side as the judge read his sentence last week, exchanging whispers and leaning her head on her mother's shoulder as it became clear that, despite intense international pressure, the fiery opposition leader would be put away.
At first, there was hope – President Viktor Yanukovych, keenly aware that a guilty verdict would damage his desire for closer ties with the EU, hinted at changes in the criminal code that would set Tymoshenko free.
Then, two days after the verdict was handed down, prosecutors opened a second criminal case against Tymoshenko on accusations of embezzling £250m while president of United Energy Systems of Ukraine, a gas trading company, in 1997.
"We were shocked," said Carr, who lives in the Ukrainian capital with her British rock singer husband, Sean Carr.
"It just shows they're moving along with their plan of the destruction of political opponents."
Tymoshenko and her supporters insist Yanukovych orchestrated the campaign against her to rid Ukraine of one of its most popular politicians, and his chief political rival. Yanukovych has denied the allegation.
Tymoshenko remains inside Lukyanivska, which functions mainly as a pre-trial detention centre. She shares a 15 sq m space with two other women, both awaiting charges on economic crimes.
There is a small window, covered with three sets of bars. There is no hot water and the thick walls of the 19th-century prison keep its interior cold and damp. Tymoshenko spends her days reading.
"Now she will have more work to do, reading the documents for the new criminal case," said Carr.
Visits are limited to close family members and lawyers, with all other visitor requests denied.
"She used to go for walks in the courtyard, but she cannot move that much now because of the pain," said Carr.
Tymoshenko's family said the stress of the trial, coupled with poor conditions inside the jail, had exacerbated the 50-year-old's health issues – a bad back and stomach problems.
"One week after she was arrested she started to have symptoms – bruises, haematomas on her skin. We still don't know what it is," said Carr.
Prison officials have denied Tymoshenko's request to receive a visit from her doctor.
Despite all that, Tymoshenko takes care to keep up her appearance, including what is arguably the world's most famous plait.
"She looks good,she's trying, she does her hair," said Carr. "She doesn't want to upset us, to show her state of mind."
Tymoshenko's immaculate appearance in the Kiev courtroom last week was only marred by a couple of inches of root growth, a testament to the time she has spent imprisoned.
Tymoshenko appears acutely aware of the political capital she is acquiring. Long a divisive figure, among her supporters she has managed to cast off the reputation of being Ukraine's Gas Princess, a title bestowed upon her in the 1990s when she profited handsomely from the country's chaotic post-Soviet economy.
"She remains strong," said Carr. "She's ready to go on and fight through this. It shows she's a real leader, that she's not going to go for any compromise, for any negotiations with this regime."
Some have compared her plight to that of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has managed to reshape himself from reviled oligarch to Russian voice of conscience thanks to two politicised trials and a lengthy jail sentence.
There is still speculation that Tymoshenko could be released. Some observers had believed Yanukovych would attempt to reach some sort of compromise before 20 October, when he is due to fly to Brussels to finalise the details of a free trade agreement that has been touted as a key step in Ukraine's long search to solidify relations with the EU.
The EU has warned Ukraine that it sees the trial as politically motivated and warned relations will have to be reconsidered.
"The president and his team are aimed at removing their political opponents no matter what," said Carr.
"They don't listen to any messages from the world – they're aimed at destroying their main political opponent. And it seems they're not going to stop at anything."
Carr recalls her mother's brief arrest in February 2001, on charges of document forgery and tax evasion dating to the mid-1990s. The charges were quickly dropped.
"Ten years ago, she was jailed for exactly the same reason," she said. "It's the same scenario, the same actors.
"I want my mother back home and I don't want her to be part of this political fight all the time.
"Sometimes it comes to a point when I just want her out of it, we just want her to have a normal life.
"But if you remove politics from her life, she would not be able to live. It makes her happy."
Tymoshenko has called the cold walls of the 150-year-old prison home since 5 August, when she was detained for disrupting the court in the middle of her trial on charges of abusing her power while signing a gas deal with Russia as prime minister in 2009.
Last week, she was found guilty and handed a seven-year sentence, and ordered to pay £120m in damages.
"It's simply a trial of revenge, a trial to show other opponents 'don't come out, don't raise your head, don't try to fight with us'," Carr said by telephone from Kiev, her voice tired and strained.
Carr, 31, sat dutifully by Tymoshenko's side as the judge read his sentence last week, exchanging whispers and leaning her head on her mother's shoulder as it became clear that, despite intense international pressure, the fiery opposition leader would be put away.
At first, there was hope – President Viktor Yanukovych, keenly aware that a guilty verdict would damage his desire for closer ties with the EU, hinted at changes in the criminal code that would set Tymoshenko free.
Then, two days after the verdict was handed down, prosecutors opened a second criminal case against Tymoshenko on accusations of embezzling £250m while president of United Energy Systems of Ukraine, a gas trading company, in 1997.
"We were shocked," said Carr, who lives in the Ukrainian capital with her British rock singer husband, Sean Carr.
"It just shows they're moving along with their plan of the destruction of political opponents."
Tymoshenko and her supporters insist Yanukovych orchestrated the campaign against her to rid Ukraine of one of its most popular politicians, and his chief political rival. Yanukovych has denied the allegation.
Tymoshenko remains inside Lukyanivska, which functions mainly as a pre-trial detention centre. She shares a 15 sq m space with two other women, both awaiting charges on economic crimes.
There is a small window, covered with three sets of bars. There is no hot water and the thick walls of the 19th-century prison keep its interior cold and damp. Tymoshenko spends her days reading.
"Now she will have more work to do, reading the documents for the new criminal case," said Carr.
Visits are limited to close family members and lawyers, with all other visitor requests denied.
"She used to go for walks in the courtyard, but she cannot move that much now because of the pain," said Carr.
Tymoshenko's family said the stress of the trial, coupled with poor conditions inside the jail, had exacerbated the 50-year-old's health issues – a bad back and stomach problems.
"One week after she was arrested she started to have symptoms – bruises, haematomas on her skin. We still don't know what it is," said Carr.
Prison officials have denied Tymoshenko's request to receive a visit from her doctor.
Despite all that, Tymoshenko takes care to keep up her appearance, including what is arguably the world's most famous plait.
"She looks good,she's trying, she does her hair," said Carr. "She doesn't want to upset us, to show her state of mind."
Tymoshenko's immaculate appearance in the Kiev courtroom last week was only marred by a couple of inches of root growth, a testament to the time she has spent imprisoned.
Tymoshenko appears acutely aware of the political capital she is acquiring. Long a divisive figure, among her supporters she has managed to cast off the reputation of being Ukraine's Gas Princess, a title bestowed upon her in the 1990s when she profited handsomely from the country's chaotic post-Soviet economy.
"She remains strong," said Carr. "She's ready to go on and fight through this. It shows she's a real leader, that she's not going to go for any compromise, for any negotiations with this regime."
Some have compared her plight to that of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has managed to reshape himself from reviled oligarch to Russian voice of conscience thanks to two politicised trials and a lengthy jail sentence.
There is still speculation that Tymoshenko could be released. Some observers had believed Yanukovych would attempt to reach some sort of compromise before 20 October, when he is due to fly to Brussels to finalise the details of a free trade agreement that has been touted as a key step in Ukraine's long search to solidify relations with the EU.
The EU has warned Ukraine that it sees the trial as politically motivated and warned relations will have to be reconsidered.
"The president and his team are aimed at removing their political opponents no matter what," said Carr.
"They don't listen to any messages from the world – they're aimed at destroying their main political opponent. And it seems they're not going to stop at anything."
Carr recalls her mother's brief arrest in February 2001, on charges of document forgery and tax evasion dating to the mid-1990s. The charges were quickly dropped.
"Ten years ago, she was jailed for exactly the same reason," she said. "It's the same scenario, the same actors.
"I want my mother back home and I don't want her to be part of this political fight all the time.
"Sometimes it comes to a point when I just want her out of it, we just want her to have a normal life.
"But if you remove politics from her life, she would not be able to live. It makes her happy."
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