KIEV — A Ukrainian court on Wednesday dismissed a request by state prosecutors to arrest former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is standing trial for alleged abuse of office.
Prosecutors said Tymoshenko should be taken into custody because she was trying to disrupt the trial. At present she is allowed to stay at her home, but is barred from leaving Kiev.
Tymoshenko, an opponent of President Viktor Yanukovych, has dismissed all charges against her as politically motivated, and Western governments have expressed concern over her case.
"Yanukovych got too scared to arrest me," Tymoshenko wrote on her Twitter feed after the court ruling.
Judge Rodion Kireyev said the court had the means to press ahead with the trial.
(Reuters)
