Ukraine - Ukraine adjourns Tymoshenko trial amid protests

Ukraine readjourned the trial of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Monday as pressure mounted on the Euro 2012 co-host to drop the controversial case. The presiding judge set the next hearing for July 10 -- more than a week after the final this weekend of European football's premier international event, when Ukraine will be under less international scrutiny. Several thousand of Tymoshenko's supporters and foes held rival rallies outside the courtroom in the eastern city of Kharkiv where the fiery opposition leader is standing trial on fresh tax evasion charges while serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of power. (FILES) -- A file photo taken on February 2, 2011 shows Ukraine's former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Yulia Tymoshenko posing in her residence in Kiev during an interview with AFP. The legal problems of Ukraine's jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko mounted on June 19, 2012 after a top prosecutor said he was planning to charge her over the murder of a lawmaker in 1996. Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin said in a newspaper interview the only obstacle in the way of charging was Tymoshenko's current hospitalisation for severe back pains but expressed confidence the case would come to court. AFP PHOTO / SERGEI SUPINSKY