Tymoshenko denies role in MP's killing

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KIEV, Ukraine, April 9 (UPI) -- Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko dismissed as "absurd" Monday a claim she may have been involved in the 1996 murder of a member of Parliament.

Her comments came after the son of Yevhen Scherban said Wednesday he had given the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine documents on the possible involvement of Tymoshenko and another former prime minister, Pavlo Lazarenko, in the slaying of his father, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

In a statement distributed by the press service of the Batkivschyna Party, Tymoshenko said, "Linking me with the Scherban case has no sense; it's absurd."

Scherban was fatally shot by a group of people in in Donetsk airport in 1996 after his arrival from Moscow. His wife, his mechanic and a flight engineer also died.

Tymoshenko, who served as prime minister from December 2007 to March 2010, was sentenced to seven years in prison in October for abuse of office in the 2009 signing of Russian gas contracts. She was also fined $200 million.

Her conviction has been condemned as politically motivated by the United States, Russia, the European Union and human rights groups.

Tymoshenko, who lost an election to Viktor Yanukovych in 2010, has denied wrongdoing.