It would have been out of character for Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s thuggish and vindictive president, to let his rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, simply walk free after her four-month trial. Since she was taken into custody in August it had been clear that the chances of her acquittal were slim. So it was no surprise that a court in Kyiv today sentenced Ms Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for signing a disadvantageous gas contract with Russia in 2009 (when she was prime minister), banned her from holding public office for three years and fined her $190 million. Read full report here.
