The United States again expressed concern about democracy and rule of law in Ukraine after a Kyiv court of appeals upheld the conviction of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. The U.S. urged the Ukrainian authorities to release Tymoshenko and other opposition figures currently kept in jail to allow them to participate in upcoming elections in October 2012. “The United States was disappointed that the Kyiv Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on December 23rd and did not address concerns about democracy and rule of law raised in the initial trial and sentencing,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said at a briefing on Tuesday.
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