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Tymoshenko loses appeal against jailing
KIEV: A Ukraine appeals court on Friday upheld the guilty verdict and seven-year jail sentence imposed on former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko over abuse-of-office charges in a case that has soured Ukraines ties with the West.The ruling suggests Tymoshenko, an opposition leader whose party is one of the key contenders in the October 2012 parliamentary election, is unlikely to go free in the near future. The court has left the (original) ruling unchanged, a spokeswoman for the appeals court said. Tymoshenko, the fiercest opponent of President Viktor Yanukovich, was sentenced in October for overstepping her powers in forcing through a gas deal with Russia in 2009. The European Union this week put off signing agreements on political association and free trade with Ukraine, citing Tymoshenkos case as an example of selective justice. Tymoshenko, who has denied any wrong doing, had boycotted the appeal trial calling it biased. She has filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights which plans to fast-track it. Tymoshenko, 51, twice served as prime minister after leading the 2004 Orange Revolution which ruined Yanukovichs first bid for the presidency. Yanukovich, who beat her in the 2010 presidential run-off, said this week he had nothing to do with her case and it was up to the courts and lawmakers to decide Tymoshenkos fate. Ukraines parliament, which is dominated by Yanukovichs supporters, on Thursday voted against considering an amendment that would have struck her alleged offense from the criminal code. Posted by: Steve White 2011-12-24 |
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