A tent and flags set up near the prison in Kiev where former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is being held.<br/> Tymoshenko was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in prison for abuse of office in relation to a gas deal she brokered with Russia in 2009.<br/> Her three-month trial has polarized public opinion in the former Soviet republic, with some maintaining the charismatic opposition leader is being persecuted.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) LIUBOV KHOMENKO:<br/> "No it is not just - if they are going to start convicting people - if they convict Tymoshenko they need to start with Kravchuk, Victor Yushchenko and the rest and to have a look at what they've sold."<br/> Other residents of Kiev hold a different view.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) KONSTANTIN PERMYAKOV:<br/> "I think that any politician at that level would get the sentence she received, so it doesn't bother me."<br/> The European Union, a large Ukraine trading partner, has warned that jailing Tymoshenko will risk jeopardizing an association agreement due to be signed later this year.<br/> Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
