Thousands Rally Outside Tymoshenko's Prison Window

Ukraine`s jailed ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko addresses supporters gathered outside her prison window, urging them to "hold on". EPA/BGNES

A couple of thousand protesters rallied before the prison window of Ukraine's jailed ex Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Kiev.

Tymoshenko, the country's top opposition leader, was sentenced to seven years in jail last month on charges of abuse of office in a trial the US and EU condemned as politically motivated. She was found guilty of violating legal procedures while negotiating a natural gas import contract with Russia in 2009 that ended the Russia-Ukraine gas war of January 2011.

In her first public appearance since her conviction on October 11, Tymoshenko sent her supporters kisses and smiled from behind bars, and then briefly addressed the crowd.

"Hold on, my dear ones," Tymoshenko cried out, according to her office. "Thank you for your support. Victory will be ours. Glory to Ukraine."

Tymoshenko's supporters have held several rallies outside her detention center in central Kiev and it was unclear why she was allowed to address them Friday.

Efforts to free jailed former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko suffered another setback Friday after lawmakers delayed voting on a legal reform that could allow her release, international media reported

Legislators voted Friday to put off by some two weeks a vote on a draft law that could turn Tymoshenko's crime into a milder economic misdemeanor and allow her release. Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said legislators need more time to prepare for the debate.

Tymoshenko says she's innocent and accuses her rival President Viktor Yanukovich of ordering her imprisonment to bar her from parliamentary elections next year.

Her conviction has threatened to derail Ukraine's integration with the EU in a moment when Kiev is expecting to sign an association agreement with the Union.

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