A judge on Monday refused to release former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from police detention, increasing political tension around her trial on a charge of abuse of office. Ukrainian special forces clashed with her supporters outside the courtroom on Kiev's main thoroughfare after the trial judge rejected for a third time pleas by her lawyers for her to be freed from police custody.
The charismatic 50-year-old politician has repeatedly refused to cooperate with judge Rodion Kireyev since her trial opened at the end of June and has denounced him as a "puppet" of President Viktor Yanukovich, her political opponent. She was placed in police detention last Friday for contempt of court.
When the judge on Monday refused a third request to release her and fixed the next hearing for Wednesday, scores of her supporters poured out on to the thoroughfare, temporarily blocking traffic. Scuffles broke out as "Berkut" special forces poured into the area to clear a path for a police van to drive Tymoshenko away. Scores of supporters stood by chanting "Yulia! Yulia!" derisively at riot police.
Tymoshenko, who brought thousands on to the streets during the 2004 "Orange Revolution" protests, remains an iconic figure for many in parts of the ex-Soviet republic. Her detention has prompted criticism from the United States - an important backer for Kiev, which is drawing on a multi-billion dollar International Monetary Fund credit arrangement. Adding to European Union criticism of her detention, Washington said in a statement that the ruling reinforced the impression that Tymoshenko's trial was politically motivated.
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