Former Ukraine PM sentenced to 7 years in jail

Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday was sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges of abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia, reported the Russian Interfax news agency . Tymoshenko, the driving force of the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution and now the nation''s top opposition leader, denounced the trial as rigged by President Viktor Yanukovych in order to get rid of a popular political opponent. Judge Rodion Kireyev declared Tymoshenko, 50, guilty of exceeding her authority as premier when she signed a natural gas imports contract with Russia in 2009. He also banned her from occupying government posts for three years after the completion of her prison term and fined her 1.5 billion hryvna ($190 million or C140 million) for the damages her actions cost the state.