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Ukraine’s high court yesterday postponed the appeal hearing of jailed ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko against her seven-year jail term for abuse of power until after the end of its hosting of the Euro 2012 football championships.

The court postponed the hearing to 0700 GMT on July 12, Judge Stanislav Mishchenko told the court in Kyiv, approving a motion brought by the prosecution.

This means the key hearing will take place once the spotlight is no longer on Ukraine which is co-hosting with Poland the Euro 2012 which wraps up with the final in Kyiv on Sunday.

Tymoshenko’s supporters have accused President Viktor Yanukovych of pursuing the case in an act of revenge against his political rival while the EU has slammed the case as politically motivated.

Tymoshenko’s lawyer Sergiy Vlasenko, who had strongly objected to the postponement request by the prosecution, said the authorities led by Yanukovych wanted to string out the appeal to delay the case going to the European Court of Human Rights.

The case threatened to overshadow Ukraine’s co-hosting of the Euro 2012 after European leaders refused to attend matches in the country in protest at her treatment.

Most commentators agree that the football championships have been well-organized in Ukraine and provided a much-needed boost to the country’s image.

Whatever the outcome of this process, Tymoshenko faces other legal woes including a second trial on charges of fraud and tax evasion related to her work at a Ukrainian gas utility she headed in the 1990s.

AFP