Tymoshenko denied recommended medical treatment

[March 15, 2012]  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- A Ukrainian prison official says that jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who suffers from a back condition, hasn't been allowed to receive treatment in a specialized clinic recommended by German doctors.

Tymoshenko, 51, the country's top opposition leader, is serving a seven-year jail sentence on charges of abuse of office after a verdict condemned by the West as politically motivated.

Tymoshenko has a spinal hernia and suffers from constant pain. German doctors have concluded that she urgently needs complex treatment that cannot be conducted on the premises of the prison in eastern Ukraine.

Penitentiary Service spokesman Ihor Andrushko said Thursday that Tymoshenko has been offered medication, massages and other procedures for her condition to be administered inside the prison, but she refused.

[Associated Press]

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