Prosecutor Says Tymoshenko To Face Charges In Murder Case

Ex-Prime Minister and presidential hopeful Yuliya Tymoshenko during a court hearing in Kyiv in 2011.

A Ukrainian prosecutor says imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is expected be charged in connection with the murder of a lawmaker 16 years ago.

Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat Kuzmin, in an interview with Russia's "Kommersant" newspaper published on June 18, said there is enough evidence to charge Tymoshenko in connection with the murder of wealthy lawmaker Yevhen Shcherban.

Shcherban was gunned down in Donetsk in a case Ukrainian prosecutors have linked to a struggle over control of energy resources.

Kuzmin did not say what crime Tymoshenko could be charged with over the case.

Tymoshenko is already serving a seven-year sentence on abuse of office charges, is the defendant in a tax-offenses trial that began in April, and is the subject of other criminal investigations.

Her prosecution has been condemned by the European Union and United States as politically motivated by her enemies.

Based on reporting by Kommersant, UNIAN, and AP