EURASIA - Ukraine parliament rejects bills to release Former PM Tymoshenko

EURASIA - Ukraine parliament rejects bills to release Former PM Tymoshenko:

"

Leaflets with a picture of former Ukrainian Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko and a text reading "Freedom for Yulia"
fly over the heads of Ukrainians lawmakers in
Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 19. 2013 after an opposition
activist tossed the leaflets from a balcony for press. AP Photo

Ukraine's parliament on Thursday voted against bills that would have allowed jailed ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko to go abroad for treatment, dealing a potentially fatal to blow to the chances of signing an association deal with the EU this month.

The Verkhovna Rada rejected all six bills put forward on the treatment of convicts abroad, after they failed to gain the support of President Viktor Yanukovych's ruling Regions Party. Opposition lawmakers, who had supported all the legislation, shouted "shame" as the bills were rejected. MPs from Yanukovych's Regions Party, as well as their Communist allies, did not cast their votes in the voting on any of the six bills. All six bills received 200 votes in favour out of 450 MPs in parliament, short of the 226 votes needed for the legislation to be passed. EU leaders have made clear that Ukraine will only be able to sign the Association Agreement -- a first step to membership -- at the November 28-29 summit in Vilnius if it allows some form of release to Tymoshenko who was jailed in 2011 in a controversial abuse of authority case."

'via Blog this'