Ukraine court rejects Tymoshenko sentence appeal

A Ukrainian court has rejected an appeal by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, pictured in October, against her seven year jail term on charges of abuse of power that sparked a crisis in relations with the EU

A Ukrainian court on Friday rejected an appeal by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko against her seven year jail term on charges of abuse of power that sparked a crisis in relations with the EU. "The sentence... is to be left unchanged," Kiev appeals court judge Olena Sitailo said in her ruling, an AFP correspondent reported, after a process that was already boycotted by Tymoshenko's legal team.