KIEV, Ukraine - A lawyer for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says efforts to free her through the legal system are almost certainly doomed and she is likely to remain in prison for many months.
Serhiy Vlasenko claimed that President Viktor Yanukovych is intent on keeping the top opposition leader in prison to bar her from elections.
Tymoshenko was convicted last month of abusing her powers while in office and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Vlasenko said Monday that Parliament, dominated by Yanukovych loyalists, this week will likely kill a bill that could free her, and predicted an appeals court would uphold the conviction when it rules next month.
Tymoshenko is pinning her hopes on eventually getting the verdict overturned by the European Court of Human Rights.
