he Ukraine defense minister, Valery Ivashchenko, was found guilty on Thursday of abuse of office for his role in the sale of a government-owned shipbuilding plant in 2009. He was sentenced to five years in prison
That accusation has been echoed frequently in Western capitals. Officials in the United States and in the European Union have pressed Mr. Yanukovich to free several of his imprisoned opponents, especially Ms. Tymoshenko, 51, who was sentenced to seven years in prison last fall for abuse of office while prime minister.
In a statement on Friday, the embassy called for Mr. Ivashchenko’s release from prison.
“We are deeply disappointed in this latest example of selective justice in Ukraine,” the statement said.
Mr. Yanukovich and his allies have denied accusations that the prosecutions of his opponents have been politically motivated. Rather, they have said the campaign is part of an effort to clean up corruption in the wake of Ms. Tymoshenko’s term as prime minister. The charges against her stem from a gas deal with Russia in 2009, which a court found to have hurt Ukraine’s national interests.
Yuri Lutsenko, who was Ukraine's interior minister, was convicted in February of embezzlement and given four years in jail. Heorhiy Filipchuk, the former natural resources minister, was jailed for three years last week because of a contract with a legal firm over a Black Sea exploration deal.
All four cases have prompted claims from Tymoshenko that she and her allies have been targeted by a campaign led by her political rival, President Viktor Yanukovych.
The impression is that the Ukrainian authorities are not fulfilling their duty”Markus LoeningGerman human rights commissioner
Shortly after he was found guilty, the former defence minister said he had "every reason to believe that the sentence is unjust", Ukrainian media said, and he denounced the prosecutor general's office as a "criminal organisation". Ukrainian TV said that he was unable to stand up to hear the sentence because of ill health.
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