Financial Times Pro Arresht Tymoshenko

Tymoshenko arrested over Russian gas trial row

By Roman Olearchyk in Ukraine

Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's leading opposition figure, was arrested on Friday, triggering fresh concerns that the administration of Viktor Yanukovich was persecuting opponents and backsliding on democracy.'

Ms Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and a leader of Ukraine's pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004,, was detained on charges of violating court procedures during her trial for exceeding her authority while brokering a natural gas supply agreement in 2009 with Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister. Their agreement ended a bitter energy standoff that cut Russian gas supplies to Europe for weeks.

Western diplomats in Kiev expressed shock at the arrest, saying it could drive a wedge into Kiev's European integration plans. One western diplomat described the incident as further evidence that one year into Viktor Yanukovich's presidency, Kiev was swaying away from core EU values, such as democracy; and that this could jeopardise Ukraine's chances of wrapping up free trade and association agreements with Brussels by the end of this year. "This could have a serious negative impact on free trade negotiations with Europe. This is serious," said one western diplomat.

Ms Tymoshenko was escorted from a court room on Kiev's main street by armed police. Crowds of her supporters clashed with police as she was ushered into a vehicle and driven to a jail.

Judge Rodion Kireyev said her arrest was necessary to control her unruly behaviour in the courtroom and stall-tactics. The trial is expected to continue on Monday.

Ms Tymoshenko has accused the judge of being Mr Yanukovich's puppet. On Friday, she repeated claims that the judge was not giving her a chance to fairly defend herself against the charges.

Mr Yanukovich has made progress in integrating Ukraine closer to the EU while difusing tension with Russia since beating Ms Tymoshenko in a presidential contest in early 2010.

Mr Yanukovich says the investigations into Ms Tymoshenko and dozens of her associates – some jailed – are part of an honest effort to combat corruption. The US and EU have expressed concerns that the investigations amount to "selective justice" aimed at sideling political opponent.

On Friday, Oleg Voloshyn, spokesman at Ukraine's foreign ministry, called upon EU officials not to over react. "We expect that the future relations between Ukraine and the EU are broader than the fate of one politician, that they make their decision on free trade and association with Ukraine independent on whether Tymoshenko is arrested or not. At issue is the future of 45m citizens," he said.