Verdict due in Ukraine's Tymoshenko trial

Mrs Tymoshenko's trial appearances have been marked by strong protest rallies

A court is due to give its verdict in the trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Mrs Tymoshenko is charged with abuse of office, but insists she is the victim of a vendetta by Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych.
Prosecutors have asked for her to be jailed for seven years over a 2009 gas deal with Russia.
Mrs Tymoshenko's party has called for thousands of her supporters to protest outside the court in Kiev.
The former Orange Revolution leader has been in custody for contempt of court since 5 August.
Judge Rodion Kireyev retired to consider the verdict in late September after a three-month trial.
Although he set 11 October as the date for the verdict, correspondents say he could push back the date or take several days to read out the verdict.
The US and EU have voiced concern over the legitimacy of the trial.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Monday the bloc was "not very optimistic" about what appears to be an "application of selective justice".
Speaking after an EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, she said the EU would continue to negotiate details of a proposed free trade deal with Ukraine, but added "there is also a political process" that can affect the talks.
Mrs Tymoshenko's Batkivshschyna party called for protests outside the court on Tuesday.
"The fate of Ukrainian democracy is at stake," it said in a statement. "Either we are going to be free people in our own country or Yanukovych will turn Ukraine into a totalitarian criminal ghetto."
Party deputy leader Oleksander Turchinov said he hoped to see "many thousands of patriots tomorrow".
"They have no legal grounds for announcing anything other than a not-guilty verdict for Tymoshenko. When they cross that border, we will react accordingly," he said.
President Yanukovych defeated Mrs Tymoshenko at the 2010 presidential election.
She is accused of exceeding her authority while negotiating the gas agreement with Russia, which critics say was to Ukraine's disadvantage. She denies any wrongdoing.