Ukraine ex-PM Tymoshenko Goes on Trial

Ukraine's ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday went on trial for alleged abuse of power, denouncing her rival President Viktor Yanukovych as a coward fearing political competition.

The former premier, known as the "Iron Lady", is accused of abuse of power in connection with a contract she signed with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after a brief interruption of gas deliveries from Russia in early 2009.

"Yanukovych is a coward. He is afraid of political competition and opposition," Tymoshenko, wearing a cream-colored suit and sporting her trademark golden braid wrapped around her head, told reporters.

She described the process as a "kangaroo court" and vendetta orchestrated by the authorities.

"Whatever verdict is handed down, it will be a verdict against Yanukovych and not me," said Tymoshenko as several thousand of her supporters rallied in the streets near the courthouse in central Kiev.

Many held white flags with red hearts, Tymoshenko's party symbol.

One of the leaders of the pro-Western Orange Revolution in 2004, Tymoshenko narrowly lost to her old rival Yanukovych in presidential elections last year, becoming his fiercest critic.

She is now the target of several investigations including for allegedly causing a loss to the former Soviet republic's budget of 1.5 billion hryvnia ($190 million) when she signed a new energy contract with Putin after a brief interruption of gas deliveries in 2009.

The charges carry a sentence of between seven and 10 years, jeopardising Tymoshenko's ability to take part in parliamentary polls next year and the next presidential elections in 2015.

Tymoshenko, holding a pink rose, entered the courtroom to the cries of "Yulia, Yulia" and applause from her supporters.

Known for her penchant for theatrics, she crossed herself before the beginning of the trial and took a copy of the constitution, a small prayer book and an icon out of her handbag, putting them on the desk near her.

"This is a farce and circus and not a court hearing," Tymoshenko told the judge.

"The court system has been privatized by Yanukovych and his circle," she said, calling judge Rodion Kireyev the "presidential administration's puppet."

Next to her was sitting her aide sporting a white T-shirt emblazoned with the words "freedom for political prisoners."

A European diplomat, present at the court, expressed scepticism over the fairness of the trial.

"This looks a little bit like justice but not like justice seen in European countries," the diplomat told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

The stuffy courtroom was bursting at the seams from the volume of journalists, supporters. Some shouted "Shame, shame on the entire Ukraine" demanding a bigger room.

"Yulia's voice is the voice of people," read one of the placards brandished by her supporters outside.

Scores of police, some wearing anti-riot protective gear, ringed the courthouse.

Tymoshenko signed a pledge not to leave Kiev but has not been detained so far in the investigation.

However several of her former top allies, including ex-interior minister Yury Lutsenko have been imprisoned in other investigations, prompting the United States to raise concern of "selective prosecution" in Ukraine.

Many observers say Tymoshenko, who is known for an insatiable thirst for power and body-hugging designer dresses, revels in attention, even if it comes in the form of legal proceedings.

The former premier was previously briefly imprisoned on charges of forgery and gas smuggling. The charges, which she says were also politically motivated, were quashed in 2005.