Appeal court starts preliminary hearing on Ukrainian ex-Premier\'s case

The Kiev Court of Appeals started on Thursday a preliminary hearing on an appeal against a Pechersky Criminal Court ruling that sentenced Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seven years in prison. Tymoshenko is not attending the hearing on health grounds. Tymoshenko\'s defense team lodged a complaint on October 25, two weeks after the verdict of guilty was handed down on October 11. Judge Rodion Kireev said she caused 190 million U.S. dollars in losses for Ukraine by signing an overpriced 10-year gas import deal with Russia in 2009. The court said she should repay the losses. Just two days after the verdict, the Ukrainian Security Service opened a new criminal case against the ex-premier over alleged embezzlement when she led an energy company in the 1990s. In early November, Ukraine\'s tax police reopened four cases against her.