Mrs Tymoshenko claimed the charges against her were politically motivated.
Yulia Tymoshenko rejected multiple times all the charges against her, calling the trial a “farce” and naming the judge a “stooge of (President Viktor) Yanukovych’s administration” appointed to “fabricate” the case.
As the verdict was read out, Mrs Tymoshenko spoke over the judge, saying she would fight to defend her honest name. She said she would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
“We will fight and defend my good name in the European court,” she said. “We have to be strong and defend Ukraine from this authoritarianism.”
When the judge finished the verdict, all supporters in the courtroom cried “Shame!”
“Dear friends, I just want to say that I disagree with this verdict and I am saying that the year 1937 is back again,” Yulia Tymoshenko said in the courtroom on Tuesday, making a reference to Josef Stalin’s rule when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.
The US and the EU have condemned the charges as selective prosecution of political opponents.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the nation’s 2009 natural gas agreements with Ukraine were legal.
“We follow the principle that (Yulia) Tymoshenko’s trial must be fair and unbiased and meet all of the requirements of Ukrainian legislation, with the possibility of defense and compliance with the fundamental humanitarian standards and rules,” according to a ministry statement.
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