A Ukrainian court in the city of Kharkiv has once again postponed the hearing of a new trial against jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of office charges, was scheduled to be tried anew in Kharkiv on separate charges of tax evasion and embezzlement dating back to the 1990s when she ran a large gas trading business.
But Tymoshenko failed to appear citing poor health, and the case was postponed until June 7.
Ukrainian state prosecutor Marina Kapinos said that at the moment it is hoped that Tymoshenko will want to come to the court herself, as she will become ashamed of herself in front of the society to come and honestly and voluntarily testify about the details of her management at the EESU corporation and how she acquired her controversial fame as the gas princess.
Tymoshenko and her allies have called the trial politically motivated by her arch-rival President Viktor Yanukovich.
Reacting to the allegations, Yanukovich denied the allegations and brushed off claims he is directing her prosecution.
The former premier was one of the architects of the 2004 Orange Revolution that denied Yanukovich his first bid at the presidency. Her plight and allegations that she has been mistreated in prison have soured relations between Ukraine and the European Union and drawn the attention of human rights activists in the West.