Former Ukranian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (pictured here) has been sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of abuse of power regarding a gas deal with Russia in 2009. Ms. Tymoshenko claimed that the accusations against her were politically motivated and that she will appeal against her conviction and take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
In addition to the jail sentence, the judge determined that Ms. Tymoshenko must reimburse the state in $186 million, equivalent to the alleged financial damage caused by the gas agreement. She was also banned from public office for three years.
The verdict was seen with critical eyes by Russia and the European Union. According to a EU representative, the outcome of the case should hurt Ukraine’s aspirations to EU-membership.
Read the full article Ukraine ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko jailed over gas deal on bbc.co.uk. The picture of Ms. Tymoshenko shown above is from rt.com and is credited to AFP.
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