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Tymoshenko Again Refuses To Appear At Trial


Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko
Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko
Ukrainian officials say jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is refusing for the ninth time to show up at her tax evasion trial.

Ukraine’s Penitentiary Service said on October 12 that Tymoshenko had informed a court in Kharkiv that she would not attend the trial hearing scheduled for October 15.

The officials did not specify Tymoshenko's reasons for her refusal.

Tymoshenko is already serving a seven-year sentence over an abuse of power conviction.

The current trial concerns separate accusations that she evaded millions of U.S. dollars in taxes in connection with a private energy company she headed in the 1990s.

The trial has been postponed eight times since April due to Tymoshenko's health problems. Western governments say the case appears to be politically motivated.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax

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