Ukraine's parliament voted by an overwhelming margin on Saturday to immediately release jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who spearheaded the nation's pro-democracy 2004 Orange Revolution.

A motion "to immediately free Tymoshenko based on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights" was backed by 322 deputies of the 331 registered for Saturday's Verkhovna Rada session. Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years on disputed "abuse of power" charges in 2011.