11 October 2011

UKRAINE : 7 Years Jail For Yulia; Putin Is Puzzled By Verdict...EU And USA Object.

                                          TELEGRAPH

     After an often bizarre and heated trial...former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, 50, will spend 7 years in jail...convicted of acting beyond her power in a 2009 nat gas deal with Russia.
    She will also have to pay $186mn...and was banned from holding office for 3 years.
    There were immediate negative reactions from outside the Ukraine.
    The USA and EU called her trial politically motivated.
    Russia's foreign ministry said the ruling had a "clear anti-Russian subtext"...and PM Putin said he could not understand the court's verdict.
    "It is dangerous and counterproductive to cast the entire package of agreements into doubt," said Putin...who signed the gas agreement. 
     Yulia can appeal the verdict...but it will be a long process...and she must remain in jail during the appeal.