Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich hinted at possible imminent changes to the law which may benefit former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, convicted on Tuesday of abuse-of-office and sentenced to seven years in jail.
Yanukovich was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying Tymoshenko, his arch-rival, would be able to turn to the Appeals Court in respect of the verdict and sentence.
"It goes without saying that the decision it (the court) will take and within what legislative framework it will take its decision — this will have great signficance," he said.
Before a Ukrainian court convicted Tymoshenko on Tuesday, European Union diplomats had been urging Yanukovich to "decriminalise" the charge against her and re-classify it as an administrative case and not a criminal one.
