Western doctors who examined jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko earlier this month say she has serious health problems for which she is not receiving adequate treatment.
The independent confirmation of the gravity of Tymoshenko’s condition – which her daughter says is a spinal disc hernia – could further damage Ukraine’s already-strained relations with the U.S. and European Union.
Western officials have for months demanded that President Viktor Yanukovych free his longtime political foe, who was sentenced to seven years in prison Oct. 11 after being convicted on abuse-of-office charges.
Her family has been saying that she is seriously ill, but officials have played down these claims.
Three Canadian and two German doctors were allowed to examine her earlier this month, and they confirmed she needed more tests and treatment.
“She is bed-ridden,” said Dr. Peter Kujtan, one of three Canadian doctors who examined her earlier this month. “I believe that this lady is ill, in constant pain and requires toxicology and other laboratory testing.”
Dr. Kujtan added that the doctors were not allowed to carry out some tests and were hindered in their work by government officials.
“We had no chance to examine her without barriers. We were limited to what we could do due to the lack of privacy. She mistrusts the local government doctors,” he said.
A German doctor who examined Tymoshenko was quoted by Radio Liberty as saying she is “seriously ill.”
Officials insist that she is receiving all necessary treatment. The State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine said on Feb. 23 that Tymoshenko had undergone an additional examination at a hospital in Kharkiv.
Western officials have insisted that Ukraine free Tymoshenko or face a freeze in relations and no support in tough negotiations to unlock critical lending from the International Monetary Fund.
