Ukraine prosecutor urges court to confirm Tymoshenko’s guilt

Ukrainian state prosecutors urged a high court on Tuesday to reject the appeal of jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko against her conviction for abuse of office, a case Western leaders have condemned as politically motivated.Prosecutors argued that her guilt had been clearly established at her trial last year. The abuse of office conviction relates to a gas deal which Tymoshenko, 51, brokered with Russia in 2009 when she was prime minister.The government of President Viktor Yanukovich says the pact was reckless and saddled the former Soviet republic with an enormous price for strategic supplies of gas which is now taking a toll on the heavily-stressed economy.Tymoshenko, who is receiving treatment for back trouble in a state-run clinic in the city of Kharkiv and is not present at the appeal hearing, denies betraying the national interest and says she is the victim of a vendetta by Yanukovich, who narrowly beat her for the presidency in February 2010. When the appeal hearing resumed on Tuesday, state prosecutor Oksana Drogobytskaya said Tymoshenko was guilty of a crime which had had serious consequences.