The HACC held the first preparatory hearing today in the case of Batkivshchyna faction leader Yuliia Tymoshenko, charged with offering bribes to MPs to influence parliamentary votes.

At the hearing, Tymoshenko's defense counsel announced that the defense had filed a motion with the HACC Appeals Chamber to determine jurisdiction over the case and transfer it to the Kyiv Court of Appeal. The grounds cited were an alleged ongoing public conflict between the HACC and the Temporary Investigative Commission, chaired by Batkivshchyna MP Serhii Vlasenko. According to the defense, Vlasenko himself and the TIC's activities are conflated with Tymoshenko, meaning the HACC cannot impartially hear the case against her.

Tymoshenko stated that the case is subject to significant political pressure. In her view, there is no evidence of her guilt beyond an audio recording, which she considers falsified.

The prosecutor, for his part, said there were no grounds to adjourn the hearing and that it could proceed without waiting for the Appeals Chamber's ruling. On the merits of the motion, he stated that the case falls within HACC's jurisdiction and that no political bias had influenced the pre-trial investigation authorities.

The court partially granted the defense's motion, but allowed the prosecutor to speak before adjourning the case pending the Appeals Chamber's ruling on jurisdiction.