North County Times: The martyrdom of Yulia Tymoshenko
There are three obvious explanations for Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's behavior in the case of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who has just been sentenced to seven years in prison and a $186 million fine for a decision she made while in office that would never end up in court in a normal democratic country. None of the three reflect well on Yanukovych. The first explanation is that he is simply waging a vendetta through the courts against Tymoshenko's party. Seventeen other members of the government she led have also faced criminal charges over their conduct while in office, and several are already serving jail terms. So maybe Yanukovych is just a political thug who wants to destroy the opposition. Read the story here.