Ukraine's Tymoshenko to receive medical treatment outside prison

[News_Editor]

Ukraine's Tymoshenko to receive medical treatment outside prison

2011-11-23 07:49:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

KIEV (BNO NEWS) -- Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko will receive medical treatment outside prison within the next two days, Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych said on Tuesday.

The former prime minister and current leader of the Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Association party will receive the necessary treatment at medical institutions in the capital Kiev. Yanukovych assured that the matter of Tymoshenko's health is under his control, the Ukrainian News Agency reported.

Yanukovych said that he has been informed that, at the moment, the system of medical services in penal institutions forbid rendering the necessary aid to the ex-prime minister. Specialists will be involved in the treatment of Tymoshenko if necessary, he added.

Tymoshenko's legal team has said her health is quickly deteriorating. The Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Association party is appealing to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Regional Bureau of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international organization Doctors Without Borders to help diagnose and treat Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year term for abuse of power in connection with a 2009 gas deal with Russia. She was accused of illegally forcing state energy company Naftogaz to sign a gas supply contract with Russian gas company Gazprom in 2009, which the state says required approval of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Tymoshenko has claimed her trial is politically motivated and an attempt by President Viktor Yanukovych, who narrowly beat her in the presidential election in February 2010, to bar her from future elections. The international community has largely condemned her trial.

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