Ukraine's parliament voted by an overwhelming margin today to immediately release jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who spearheaded the nation's pro-democracy 2004 Orange Revolution.
A motion "to immediately free Tymoshenko based on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights" was backed by 322 deputies of the 331 registered for today's Verkhovna Rada session. Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years on disputed "abuse of power" charges in 2011.
Ukraine's embattled leader signed a deal yesterday with the opposition in a bid to end the ex-Soviet country's worst crisis since independence after three days of carnage left nearly 100 protesters dead.
But President Viktor Yanukovych's dramatic decision to hold early elections and form a new unity government while granting amnesty for those involved in the violence was met with scepticism or even hostility by nearly 40,000 protesters who gathered on central Kiev's main square -- many of them frustrated their embattled leader was not stepping down.
"Elections in December are not enough -- he has to leave now," said 34-year-old Oleh Bukoyenko.
Ukraine's parliament then quickly adopted a flurry of opposition-backed laws that still need the president's backing before entering into force.
The chamber also approved a call for the president to dismiss acting Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko -- a hate figure who is blamed for ordering the police to open fire on unarmed protesters.
The new unity government would have the authority to reverse the inflammatory decision Yanukovych made in November to ditch an historic deal promising a path to EU membership in favour of closer ties to former master Russia.
But many protesters said the deal represented too little and did nothing to repair days of vicious bloodletting in which police used snipers and armoured vehicles against demonstrators who fought back with bats and shields while wearing makeshift protection.
