KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Thousands of supporters and opponents of Yulia Tymoshenko have rallied in front of the court of appeals in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv ahead of a court hearing in the tax-evasion case against the jailed former Ukrainian prime minister.

The court postponed the hearing after the chief of the Kharkiv prison where Tymoshenko is being held said she had again refused to be escorted to the courtroom.

Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of power, is accused of evading millions of U.S. dollars in taxes while she headed a private energy company in the 1990s.

She denies any wrongdoing.

Her prosecution has strained ties between Ukraine and Western governments, who say the cases appear politically motivated.

With reporting by UNIAN