On January 28, a draft Resolution on granting consent to the appointment of Yulia Tymoshenko as Prime Minister of Ukraine was registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. \nThe subject of the legislative initiative is the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko. \n \nThe Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has closed the criminal case against Acting Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, which had lasted 8 years. "Enough. We are putting an end to it," said Prosecutor General of Ukraine Sviatoslav Piskun. \n \n \n \nA criminal case against Tymoshenko was initiated in 1996, thus its investigation lasted 8 years, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Sviatoslav Piskun said on Friday, January 28, in Kyiv. He noted that in the United States, the investigation of criminal cases connected with the name of Yulia Tymoshenko had been closed, and the United States stated that they had no claims against her. \n \nPiskun emphasized that in Ukraine, courts had previously closed criminal cases concerning Tymoshenko's relatives and closest associates due to the absence of elements of a crime in their actions. \n \n"Having weighed the situation, we also closed the criminal case against Yulia Tymoshenko, since there is no elements of a crime in her actions," said Sviatoslav Piskun. He emphasized that this decision was made "consciously." \n \nThe Prosecutor General stressed that the repeated appeals to the Verkhovna Rada for consent to Tymoshenko's arrest and the deputies' refusal to support such appeals from the Prosecutor General's Office testify to the lack of justification for the accusation. \n\nThe Prosecutor General also said that no one is to blame for the fact that the investigation of the case dragged on, since "a process was underway." "It was impossible to prove anything without conducting investigative actions that lasted 8 years," he said. \n \n"One cannot terrorize a person for 8 years. A person cannot live their entire life under investigation," said Piskun, adding: "That is why I said 'Enough.' We are putting an end to it." \n\nThe Prosecutor General also drew attention to the fact that the presumption of innocence must apply and, if law enforcement agencies cannot prove the guilt of the accused, the case must be closed. \n\nSviatoslav Piskun stated that the case had been closed even before the President of Ukraine appointed Yulia Tymoshenko as Acting Prime Minister. He emphasized that this decision had been made back in December, immediately after he became Prosecutor General of Ukraine. "But, given the process, this decision was delayed," he reported. \n