KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was denied a request Tuesday for more time to prepare testimony in her gas contract case.
Judge Rodion Kireyev refused the former prime minister's petition, saying Tymoshenko was given plenty of time to prepare, ITAR-Tass reported. "The defendant actually refused to testify," Kireyev said.
The court also denied Tymoshenko's request for daily visits from her priest and a request to question Yuriy Maslak, who headed the commission that prepared the expert findings of the alleged damages caused by Tymoshenko's 2009 gas contracts with Russia, ForUm reported.
Tymoshenko, who is accused of corruption, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of hurting Ukraine's national interests by signing gas supply deals that tie the price of natural gas shipped from Russia to oil prices. Ukraine says it is overpaying for natural gas by $6 billion each year.
