Judge Rodion Kireyev has denied the defense’s motion to close the criminal case against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and release her from custody.

The decision was read by the judge after he spent 40 minutes in the deliberation room.

The defense justified its request by stating that facts revealed during the trial fully confirmed that the ex-premier’s actions did not constitute a criminal offense. “To continue this case means ignoring facts that fully refute all these charges,” Yulia Tymoshenko said, according to her official website.

“The law doesn’t say that a mandatory function of the Cabinet of Ministers is to adopt directives for the signing of contracts between business entities. The second fact: Ukrtranshaz didn’t suffer losses from the transit of Russian gas across Ukraine,” Yulia Tymoshenko reminded the court.

“I ask you: grant this motion and close this case under paragraph 6.2 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This will be the only legal decision in this trial,” she stressed.

In turn, the prosecution expressed the opinion that there were no grounds to grant the request: “The court doesn’t have the right to close a criminal case. The court is required to issue a verdict.”

Yulia Tymoshenko has been in jail since August 5, 2011.

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