KIEV, September 20 - RAPSI. US lawmakers have proposed imposing visa restrictions on Ukrainian officials who are involved in human rights violations, corruption and other antidemocratic behavior, Radio Svoboda (Liberty) reports.

Members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted unanimously on this decision at a hearing which ended late Wednesday evening.
The resolution, S.Res. 466, calls for the unconditional release of political prisoners, particularly former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. It also urges for the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary elections, due to take place on October 28, to be fair and transparent.

"This resolution sends a strong and unmistakable message to the Ukrainian government: selective prosecution of political opponents has no place in the community of democracies," said Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), one of the proponents of the proposal. "With parliamentary elections just around the corner, we also urge the Ukrainian government to conduct open and fair elections that are open to domestic and international observers."

In late May, Durbin met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and government members in Kiev to encourage the promotion of freedom, democracy and the development of the market economy in Ukraine.

In October 2011, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of power based on a 2009 gas contract she signed with Russia. She is serving her sentence in a Kharkiv women's prison. She has been receiving treatment at a Kharkiv hospital since May 2012. She was diagnosed with a spinal disc herniation.

In late March, a second case bringing further charges against Tymoshenko was filed with Kharkiv's Kievsky District Court. The case deals with her activity at United Energy Systems. She is accused of misappropriation of funds.

Tymoshenko's conviction worsened Ukraine's relations with the West, who consider the prosecution of the opposition in Ukraine politically motivated.