If the opposition leader, who has fallen ill while in prison, is not released, merkel will recommend that her ministers stay away from the games in ukraine, according to "spiegel. Together with poland, the country will host the european championships on 8 june. European soccer championship starting in june.
German environment minister norbert rottgen (CDU) was the first member of the cabinet to openly call for a boycott on sunday. "It is imperative to prevent the ukrainian regime from using the european championship to strengthen its dictatorship," he told the "bild" newspaper. "That's why I think that visits by ministers and prime ministers to the european championships are out of the question as things stand at the moment."
Federal minister guido westerwelle (FDP) was shocked by the treatment of timoshenko, who has been complaining of severe back pain for a long time. She was "denied appropriate medical treatment in ukraine, contrary to all legal and moral obligations," the FDP politician told the "frankfurter allgemeine sonntagszeitung" newspaper.
According to her own statements, the opponent of president viktor janukovich has been in prison since 20. April on hunger strike. She accuses the state of torture in detention because she is not treated properly. The power apparatus, on the other hand, called her a malingerer. Latest photos show 51-year-old with bruises allegedly inflicted by security guards.
In an interview, merkel sharply criticized the treatment of the former ukrainian head of government and advocated her treatment in a hospital in germany. This caused an uproar in the ruling party in kiev over the weekend.
The chancellor apparently forgot for a moment that she was governing the federal republic and not ukraine, said vassily kisselyov of the party of regions. Merkel's remarks were an "unabashed interference in the internal affairs" of ukraine, according to a statement by kiselyov published on sunday. The federal press office would not comment on the "spiegel" report on a possible boycott recommendation by merkel. Government spokesman steffen seibert stressed on friday that timoshenko must receive the necessary medical treatment. Germany offers treatment by specialists from berlin charite who had already examined her in ukraine. The 51-year-old leader of the orange revolution was sentenced to seven years in prison last year for abuse of office after an internationally controversial trial.
Tymoshenko's daughter yevgeniya called on federal government to save her mother's life. "The fate of my mother and my country are now one. If she dies, democracy dies," yevgeniya tymoshenko told the "frankfurter allgemeine sonntagszeitung".
Russian president dmitry medvedev also called the neighboring country's handling of timoshenko "completely unacceptable". The head of state described the situation in the neighboring country as "highly disconcerting". The kremlin had already voiced massive criticism of the trial against timoshenko on several occasions. She was convicted the previous year for allegedly signing unilateral gas contracts in favor of russia.
Bayern munich president uli hoeneb encouraged german national players to show solidarity with ukrainian government critics. "They have been shown grossly", hoeneb told the news magazine "der spiegel". "I had respect for any player who took a public stand on this issue."In kiev, opposition politician vitali klitschko called for a swift resolution of the series of bombs that injured 30 people in the city of dnepropetrovsk. Four bombs exploded in tymoshenko's hometown on friday. The background remains unclear.
The domestic intelligence service SBU on sunday released phantom images of three suspected killers. The men, who are between 30 and 45 years old, face charges of a terrorist attack, an SBU spokesman said, according to local media in Kiev.