President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon today expressed his deep concern at the decline in Yulia Tymoshenko's health and her decision to carry out a hunger strike in response to the violence and abuse she says she is suffering, reads a posting on the Web site of PACE.
"Having received information indicating that Tymoshenko’s state of health is worsening, I have met in Strasbourg with Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Council of Europe and members of the Ukrainian delegation to our Assembly. It appears that Tymoshenko’s health has significantly declined in the last few hours, and her decision to carry out a hunger strike will only make this delicate situation worse," reads the statement.
The president of PACE called on the Ukrainian authorities to "swiftly grant authorization for members of the international diplomatic community to visit Tymoshenko. Furthermore, it is now urgent that independent doctors are authorized to examine her health and to administer any treatment she may need."
"Finally, I would like to renew the call our Assembly made in January to drop the charges against former Ukrainian government members, including former Prime Minister Tymoshenko," reads the statement by Mignon.
As reported, on Tuesday, the ex-premier’s defense lawyer, MP Serhiy Vlasenko, read out her statement on the use of physical force during her transportation to hospital on April 20. He also said that Tymoshenko had announced a hunger strike.
The State Penitentiary Service denies the use of force against Tymoshenko and threatened to sue the ex-premier’s defense team in court.
