Lawyer of former Ukrainian PM Yulia Timoshenko rushed to hospital

Lawyer of former Ukrainian PM Yulia Timoshenko rushed to hospital

2011-07-08 20:43:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

KIEV, UKRAINE (BNO NEWS) -- The lawyer of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was taken to hospital on Friday morning after falling ill in court, local media reported, delaying Tymoshenko's trial until Monday.

Tymoshenko is on trial over accusations of misuse of government funds and abuse of power offenses. She was first charged in December 2010 with misuse of government funds in relation to the illegal divert of $425 million meant for environmental projects into pension funds.

And in February, the former PM was additionally accused of abuse of power in relation to the purchase of 1,000 Opel Combo minivans. Prosecutors said that the vehicles are valued at approximately $15,000 but Timoshenko's government purchased them for 20 percent more (at around $18,000).

But Timoshenko's lawyer, Nikolai Titarenko, arrived at a Kiev district court on Friday and asked for the hearing to be delayed until Monday. "I cannot be an adequate defender of Timoshenko because of my bad physical condition. Please delay the hearing till Monday," he was cited as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency.

An ambulance was later called to the court building to take Titarenko to a Kiev hospital, where he remains. Itar-Tass said the lawyer was suffering from a 'heart failure', but gave no other details. It is unclear if he will be able to return to court on Monday.

Tymoshenko was ousted as Prime Minister in a no-confidence vote following her narrow defeat to Viktor Yanukovych in last February's presidential election. Some, including the European Union and the United States, have claimed the charges against the former MP are politically motivated.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-08