A Kyiv court has sentenced former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seven years in jail for abusing her power in a 2009 gas deal with Russia. The conviction and jail sentence comes just as Ukraine hopes to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union.
乌克兰首都基辅的法庭因前总理尤里娅·季莫申科于2009 年与俄罗斯达成的一项天然气协定，以渎职罪名，判处她7年有期徒刑。这项罪名和刑期的宣判，正当乌克兰希望和欧盟签订自由贸易协定之际。
Protesters jostled with riot police on the main street of Ukraine's capital as news came that Yulia Tymoshenko had been sentenced to prison and to repay $190 million lost in a gas deal with Russia.
当季莫申科被判刑的消息传出来时，乌克兰首都基辅街头上的抗议群众和镇暴警察发生推挤。法庭还判决，季莫申科必须偿还乌克兰在与俄罗斯天然气交易中损失的1亿9000万美元。
But Tymoshenko, with her trademark blond peasant braid, also has supporters in Brussels, the seat of the European Union. Last week, with Tymoshenko already in jail for two months, European officials warned Ukraine's government that her conviction would threaten a free trade pact with the European Union.
金发碧眼，疏着辫子的季莫申科，在欧盟重镇布鲁塞尔也有她的支持者。上星期在季莫申科入狱两个月后，欧洲官员警告乌克兰政府，她的定罪将威胁到乌克兰与欧盟之间的自由贸易协定的签订。
"The European Union has warned [Viktor] Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president, that his attempts to finalize a free trade agreement with the bloc would be put in jeopardy if the case went forward, and [it] ended in a sentence for Yulia Tymoshenko," said Yevgeny Kiselyov who runs a political talk show in Kyiv.
在基辅主持一个政论节目的俄罗斯媒体人物叶夫根尼·凯瑟列夫说：“欧盟亚曾经向乌克兰总统亚努科维奇发出警告，如果这个案件继续下去，导致季莫申科被判刑，他想与欧盟签订自由贸易协定的愿望就有可能实现不了。”
Sweden's Prime Minister Carl Bildt warned recently, as the trial ground through its third month, that "political show trials have no place in our Europe." On Tuesday, after the court decision, Catherine Ashton, the EU's top foreign affairs official, said from Brussels that the EU is "deeply disappointed" with the verdict.
瑞典首相卡尔·比尔特最近在审判进行到第3个月之际警告说：“在我们欧洲，为了政治秀的而作审判，没有立足余地。”星期二，在基辅法庭宣判的当天，欧盟外交事物负责人凯瑟琳·阿什顿在布鲁塞尔说，欧盟对这项判决深感失望。
The verdict comes as Ukraine, the largest nation to emerge from the Soviet Union after Russia, stands poised between Russia and Europe.
乌克兰是前苏联解体后获得独立的最大的前苏联加盟共和国。它处于俄罗斯和欧盟之间，寻求和它们保持平衡关系。
After four years of negotiations, Ukraine hopes to sign a free trade agreement with the EU in December. This is to be a first step toward Ukraine eventually joining the EU. But with many Europeans saying the EU has expanded too far, too fast, the trial of Tymoshenko is now a lightning rod for opponents of further eastward expansion.
乌克兰和欧盟的自由贸易协定谈判已经长达4年。乌克兰希望双方可以在今年十二月签署。这将是乌克兰加入欧盟的第一步。但是欧洲许多人士说，欧盟扩展得太远太快。对季莫申科的审判为那些反对欧盟向东扩展的人士提供了避雷针。
At the same time, Russia is offering membership in a Kremlin-dominated customs union and deep discounts on gas prices, with no lectures on democracy.
与此同时，俄罗斯 表示可以让乌克兰获得克里姆林宫主导的关税同盟的成员国资格，以及超低的油价。
With President Yanokovych scheduled to meet with EU officials in Brussels in 10 days, analysts say fast political footwork will be needed to preserve Ukraine's European option.
乌克兰总统亚努科维奇将于10天后在布鲁塞尔和欧盟官员会晤。分析人士说，他的紧急要务，将是设法保住乌克兰加入欧盟的机会。
Viktor Chumak, director of the Ukrainian Public Policy Institute in Kyiv, says now that President Yanukovych has seen his main political rival humiliated by a court trial and conviction, his supporters in Ukraine's parliament will quickly pass a law to change the penalties under the abuse-of-power statute she was convicted of violating. Violators would no longer serve time in jail and would no longer be barred from running for political office.
基辅乌克兰公共政策研究所主任朱马克说，现在亚努科维奇总统看到他的主要政敌，受到被审判和定罪的羞辱。他在乌克兰议会中的支持者，将很快通过法律，修改有关对滥用职权罪的惩罚规定。新法将规定，触犯这项条例者不必入狱服刑，并且不再被禁止竞选公职。
Shortly after the verdict was announced President Yanukovych unexpectedly broke his long silence on the Tymoshenko case. Talking to journalists Tuesday, he lamented that it was "a regrettable case, which today is thwarting Ukraine's European integration."
季莫申科的判决宣布后不久，亚努科维奇总统出人意料地打破他对本案的沉默态度。他星期二对记者谈话时，沉痛表示这个案子令人遗憾，如今瓦解了乌克兰和欧盟的凝聚。
He went on to stress that his government is working to update Ukraine's criminal code. But his supporters will have to move fast. The next session of parliament is October 18, and the president is expected in Brussels on October 20.
亚努科维奇还强调，他的政府正努力修正乌克兰的刑事法典。不过，他的支持者的步调必须加快。乌克兰议会将在十月18日开会。亚努科维奇总统将于20日抵达布鲁塞尔。
Kiselyov, the political analyst, says the government's control of the parliament makes that timetable possible.
政治分析家凯瑟列夫说，由于政府控制议会的能力，这个时间表是可以做到的。
"They can always vote the same day and the president can sign the respective legislation on the next day or on the same day," noted Kiselyov.
他说：“他们总可以在提案的同一天进行表决，总统就在表决当天或第二天签署生效。”
Some European officials have said Ukraine's leader will not be welcome in Brussels if Tymoshenko is still in jail when he visits.
有些欧盟官员说，如果乌克兰领导人前来布鲁塞尔访问时，季莫申科还在狱中的话，他将不会受到欢迎。
Tymoshenko believes that the European card is her best one to play. Before the verdict, she announced plans to appeal her conviction to the European Court of Human Rights. As soon as the verdict was announced, a parliamentary supporter flatly announced that Ukraine's trade pact with Europe is now dead.
季莫申科相信，欧盟是她手中最好的一张牌。在判决之前，她声称将向欧洲人权法庭提出上诉。判决宣布之后，她在乌克兰议会里的一名支持者宣称，乌克兰和欧盟的自由贸易协定已经死亡。
Meanwhile, in Moscow, some analysts say the verdict closes Ukraine's door to Europe and opens its door to Russia.
同时在莫斯科，有些分析人士说，这项判决关闭了乌克兰通往欧洲的门户，却打开了与俄罗斯交往之门。
But Russia's foreign ministry was more cautious Tuesday.
但是，俄罗斯外交部星期二的态度，却是谨慎的。
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich denounced what he called "an obvious anti-Russian underlying message to this whole story."
俄罗斯外交部发言人陆卡谢维奇，驳斥他所认为的“整个事件中反俄罗斯的论调”。
The Kremlin fears Ukraine's president will try to use the court case to break the gas agreement.
克里姆林宫担心，乌克兰的亚努科维奇总统将以这项法庭判决为籍口，废止两国的天然气协定。
In Kyiv, Victor Chumak said Russian officials were right to be cautious. Faced with the choice between Russia and Europe, Chumak estimated that the odds are 60-40 in favor of Ukraine successfully taking the European road.
在基辅，乌克兰公共政策研究所主任朱马克认为，俄罗斯官方的谨慎态度是正确的。朱马克估计，面对欧盟和俄罗斯之间的选择，乌克兰选择欧盟的可能性是百分之60。
The coming weeks may decide the East-West tug of war over Ukraine - perhaps the biggest prize from the old Soviet Union.
未来一个星期，将是东西方争取乌克兰的关键期。乌克兰可能是来自前苏联的最大的奖品。 |