KHARKIV – The number of visits to former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is undergoing treatment in Ukrzaliznytsia's Central Clinical Hospital No. 5 in Kharkiv, will be limited in accordance with the recommendations of German and Ukrainian doctors.
“In order to get legal assistance under written statements from
prisoners, their relatives and public organizations, prisoners are
granted a meeting with a lawyer or other expert in the field of law who
by law has the right to provide legal assistance in person or on behalf
of the entity. The office of the State Penitentiary Service in Kharkiv
region, ensuring prisoner Tymoshenko’s right to receive medical care,
will continue to provide doctors with unimpeded access to her,” reads a
joint statement by the office of the State Penitentiary Service in
Kharkiv region and the administration of Central Clinical Hospital No.
5, the text of which was obtained by Interfax- Ukraine.
The statement says that taking into account the recommendations of
German and Ukrainian doctors, visits to Tymoshenko by other individuals
“will be limited and made in accordance with the requirements of
Ukrainian legislation, and in the time free from the undergoing of
medical procedures.”
The authors of the statement noted that from August 5, 2011 to July
31, 2012 (during her stay in Kyiv’s prison, Kachanivska penal colony and
Central Clinical Hospital No. 5), Tymoshenko held over 340 meetings
with her lawyers, relatives and other persons and representatives of
foreign states and international organizations, which lasted more than
780 hours.
“Ukrainian doctors and experts from the German Charite Clinic
repeatedly proposed, including during the last medical examination of
Tymoshenko on July 30 this year, limiting the number of visits during
the prisoner’s stay in hospital and focusing directly on her treatment
process,” reads the statement.
On October 11, 2011, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced
Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for abuse of office when signing gas
contracts with Russia in 2009. She has been serving her prison term in
the Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv since the end of December 2011.
The defense team has repeatedly stated that Tymoshenko had health
problems even during her stay in Kyiv’s pre-trial detention center, and
demanded that she be examined by independent doctors, because Tymoshenko
does not trust Ukrainian doctors. On May 9, Tymoshenko was moved from
the prison to Central Clinical Hospital No. 5 in Kharkiv. The procedures
for the ex-premier’s treatment in hospital have been selected by German
doctors from the Charite Clinic.
