The State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine has rejected requests from Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine Stefan Gullgren, and former President of the European Parliament Jerzy Karol Buzek for a meeting with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
The penitentiary service said on Wednesday that its management took such a decision to fulfill the recommendations of the doctors from the German Charite Clinic.
“Convict Tymoshenko has held numerous meetings with representatives of the European Parliament, diplomatic missions of international organizations, and political activists while staying at Central Clinical Hospital of Ukrzaliznytsia (Kharkiv). In particular, from May 9 until September 12 she held around 60 meetings, in particular with representatives of the international community,” the penitentiary service said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, according to the recommendations of the German doctors from the Charite Clinic, such amount of meetings negatively influences the process of the rehabilitation of the convict, and in connection with this doctors recommended to limit the number of meetings with the patient during her hospitalization and to focus on the rehabilitation process,” reads the statement.
At the same time, the penitentiary service mentioned that convict Tymoshenko can meet with her defense lawyer without any restrictions, as this is stipulated by the legislation.
On October 11, 2011, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for overstepping her authority when signing 2009 gas contracts with Russia. She is serving her sentence in Kachanivska Penal Colony in Kharkiv since late December 2011.
On May 9, Tymoshenko was transferred to Central Clinical Hospital No. 5 for a treatment course.
Tymoshenko’s treatment and rehabilitation process is under the control of doctors from Germany’s Charite Clinic.
