Ukrainian riot police and special forces have clashed in Kiev with supporters of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, after a local court refused to release her on bail.

The clashes erupted before the courthouse in Kiev where Tymoshenko is on trial, and on a major boulevard, with the special security forces Berkut sent against the protesters in order to clear the way for the vehicle transporting the ex Ukrainian PM, local media said.

Earlier on Monday, the District Court in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, rejected a request by Tymoshenko's lawyer Yuriy Sukhov to release her on bail, RIA Novosti reported, just as her supporters rallied in the streets protesting her detention, and the US and EU representatives expressed concerns about her trail.

On August 5, Judge Rodion Kireyev ruled that Tymoshenko had violated court rules and sought to obstruct her trial.

Tymoshenko is on trial for the 2009 deal for natural gas that her government made with Russia, and is charged with agreeing on an excessive purchase price. Tymoshenko herself claims that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, a long-time political rival, has orchestrated the trial against her before next years elections.

Back in 2004, Tymoshenko had a decisive role in Ukrainian politics by backing the so called "Orange Revolution" that overturned Yanukovich's victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections.

She served as Prime Minister of Ukraine under pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko (2004-2009), who, however, lost overwhelmingly to Yanukovich in 2009.

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