Yulia Tymoshenko trial resumes

[Bernkastel]

From the Guardian.

The much-criticised trial of Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko noisily resumed on Tuesday, following a surprise break, amid pressure from the west. Dozens of Tymoshenko's supporters gathered outside the court, attempting to push their way into the hall, according to local news reports.

EU officials have called on President Viktor Yanukovych to put an end to the trial, which they see as a politically motivated move to silence the Ukrainian leader's chief rival. Ukrainian officials have denied the case is part of a "witch-hunt".

Tymoshenko has been on trial since June on charges of abusing her power while prime minister, when she signed a gas deal with Moscow in 2009 that left Ukraine paying sky-high prices for Russian gas. In August she was sent to a Kiev jail for allegedly disrupting the court during the rowdy trial.

The EU has warned Yanukovych that his attempts to finalise a free trade agreement with the bloc would be put in jeopardy if the case went forward. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been trying to repair relations with Russia instead, with Yanukovych flying to Moscow at the weekend in an attempt to renegotiate Tymoshenko's gas deal. He said "significant" progress had been made.

The case has polarised Ukraine and yet again split the country between its western and Russian leanings. The court abruptly adjourned two weeks ago as western pressure mounted. "During the two-week break not only we, her defence, but the global community, which is interested in the case, understood that there are no bases to suggest crimes in the actions of Yulia Tymoshenko," her lawyer Yury Sukhov told journalists in Kiev.

Her other lawyer, Sergei Vasenko, said: "We understand that the case depends on the will of the president of Ukraine. In two or three hours we will know what decision Viktor Yanukovych will take today, and we will know if Ukraine is going on the European path of development or if it will remain in the same state of democracy in which it is found today."