Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is now being held in the Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv, has refused to have a massage and take physical exercise, the press office of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine reported on Friday.
"On Jan. 5, 2012, a Ukrainian Health Ministry commission of six experts proposed that Tymoshenko have exercise therapy and massage treatment. Tymoshenko has refused to undergo the rehabilitation treatment offered," reads the report.
As reported, Tymoshenko was examined by a Health Ministry commission of nine experts on Wednesday, Jan.4. The experts rated the ex-premier’s health condition as satisfactory.
"Experts have offered their recommendations regarding Tymoshenko’s further medical treatment. In particular, [Tymoshenko was advised] to move more, have a remedial massage and do a range of physiotherapy exercises," the ministry’s press service said.
Later, Tymoshenko’s press secretary, Maryna Soroka, said that Tymoshenko had refused to undergo a medical examination by experts of the Health Ministry and insisted that she be examined by independent doctors.
On Oct.11, 2011, the Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia in 2009.
Tymoshenko has been in a pre-trial detention center in Kyiv since Aug. 5, 2011. On Dec. 30, she was transferred to Kachanivska Penal Colony No. 54 in Kharkiv.
