Kiev: A judge rejected a request by former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's lawyers on Monday to free her from police detention during her trial on a charge of abuse of office.
The judge handed down his ruling as thousands of supporters gathered outside the courtroom on Kiev's main thoroughfare, calling for her release from police custody.
Tymoshenko was placed in police detention last Friday for contempt of court after refusing repeatedly to cooperate with the judge and denouncing him as a "puppet" of President Viktor Yanukovich, her political opponent. The United States and the European Union have criticised her detention.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 14:38