Penitentiary service denies forcing Tymoshenko's cellmate to give interview

No one forced Yulia Abaplova, a former cellmate of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, to give any interviews, and she expressed the wish to talk to journalists by herself, the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine said.

"The statements by Tymoshenko's defense lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, about alleged psychological pressure or other illegal actions by employees of the Kachanivska Penal Colony and the penitentiary service against convict Abaplova are obviously … aimed at discrediting the penitentiary service," reads a statement of the State Penitentiary Service.

Earlier, Vlasenko said that he has "a direct evidence" of the fact that the ex-premier's former cellmate Yulia Abaplova was forced to give a video interview.

"I know that this person was forced to do this and they prepared her for it for five months. I have irrefutable evidence of this fact. That's why I'm addressing the penitentiary service. If this fakery keeps spreading, we'll publish this evidence in the near future," he said.