KIEV, Oct. 12 – The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), an organization representing over one million Americans of Ukrainian descent, has expressed outrage and strongly condemned Pechersky District Court's sentencing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the UCCA's press service reported on Wednesday.

"The October 11 guilty verdict, which sentences the former prime minister to seven years in prison, and bans her from holding office for three years, demonstrates the selective and political motivations of the current regime and leaves no doubt that the court's decision was dictated by the government to prevent one of the top opposition leaders from taking part in upcoming elections," the UCCA said in a statement.