Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year prison term for alleged abuse of office, may have been maltreated in prison, Zuzana Roithova, a member of the European parliament, said on Wednesday.
Tymoshenko, 51, whose sentencing last October was seen by the West as politically motivated and derailed the signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, has long complained about health problems.
The family and lawyers of Tymoshenko, a charismatic opposition leader who narrowly lost the 2010 presidential election to President Viktor Yanukovich, say she is suffering from lower back pains.
Prison authorities say they are closely monitoring Tymoshenko’s health and following the recommendations of German doctors who examined her this month.
Roithova, former healtchare minister of the Czech Republic and a member of the European People’s Party which has long supported Tymoshenko, visited Kiev this week and saw part of Tymoshenko’s medical records dating back to November 2011.
"(The record) clearly shows that even then the medical findings concerning the lumbar spine area required proper treatment with anaesthetics, followed by appropriate rest and a further decision on possible surgical solution following more examinations," Roithova said in a statement.
"That would have been the standard procedure. Instead, however, she was deprived of her supportive crutches, she spent endless hours interrogated and was even temporarily deprived of the painkillers."
Roithova said she would "be taking much more seriously the concerns of Tymoshenko’s family, who fear that Yulia Tymoshenko could be exposed to toxic substances so she would succumb to the pressure upon her".
"Yulia Tymoshenko’s health raises concerns that she has been maltreated while being in prison," she said.
Tymoshenko, who denies all charges against her, gained international prominence as a leader of the Orange Revolution street protests which thwarted Yanukovich’s first bid for the presidency in 2005.
Tymoshenko was convicted of exceeding her powers as prime minister by forcing through a gas deal with Russia in 2009 which the Yanukovich leadership says saddled Ukraine with an exorbitant price for the fuel.
