Ukraine emulates Belarus

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday for abuse of office. The Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych is behind the verdict but his motives are unclear, writes the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "What exactly does Viktor Yanukovych expect after getting rid of an opponent who is so popular both abroad and at home? That Europe will forgive him because he actually wants to bring his country closer to Europe? Perhaps he will understand that this is not the right approach when disgruntled Brussels imposes the same kind of sanctions on him and his people as on Lukashenko and the Belarusian president's followers instead of signing an association agreement with Ukraine. Yanukovych is behaving as if he wasn't aware that the Ukrainians won't let him get away with the things that Lukashenko gets away with. The latter sends one opposition member after another to prison."

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