KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The court of appeals in Ukraine will have a preliminary hearing Thursday on the conviction of Yulia Tymoshenko, her lawyer said.
Lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko said Thursday's hearing would be a technical session though the appeal process should be outlined at that time. He alleged a district court in Kiev didn't conduct its investigation properly.
"Of the 30 witnesses requested by the defense, only two were allowed to testify and even then their evidence wasn't taken into consideration," he was quoted by Tymoshenko's Web site as saying.
Tymoshenko, 51, is serving a seven-year prison sentence on charges she abused her authority when, as prime minister, she helped broker a gas deal with Russian energy company Gazprom.
That deal secured natural gas supplies to Ukraine following contract disputes, though the current government in Kiev claims the deal hurt an economy battered by recession.
Tymoshenko is reportedly ill with unspecified ailments.
Kiev was moving closer to Europe before her October sentencing, though the European Union said it was reviewing its relationship with Ukraine over the matter.
Tymoshenko's Western supporters say her sentence was a political move by the pro-Kremlin government in Kiev.
