Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was late on April 20 transferred from her Kharkiv prison cell to a city hospital to receive medical treatment, according to reports citing Ukraine’s prison officials.
The surprise development has triggered protest from Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna Party, which raised suspicions that the former prime minister was transferred to the medical clinic overnight against her will.
Prison officials claim that Tymoshenko agreed to receive treatment in a Kharkiv clinic.
“After reviewing the conclusions of [an independent team of ] German doctors, Tymoshenko expressed a desire to begin treatment in the clinic that was proposed for her… in the city of Kharkiv,” prison officials said in a statement quoted by news agency AFP.
But Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna party cast doubt on claims that their leader agreed to be transferred to the hospital.
"We suspect that Yulia Tymoshenko was transferred to the hospital by force, against her will," the party said in a statement. The party called upon Ukrainian officials to immediately allow Tymoshenko to meet with her lawyers.
"Why did the transfer take place at night, in the best traditions of totalitarianism?" the party said in the statement.
Early on April 21, a prison official was quoted by Interfax-Ukraine news agency admitting that Tymoshenko had not given written approval to be transferred to the hospital. He claimed that she had only given verbal approval, adding that legislation sanctions prison officials to organize medical care without written approval.
Serhiy Vlasenko, Tymoshenko’s lawyer, said she was transferred to the hospital against her will.
Tymoshenko has for months complained of back pain and other illnesses, but has expressed distrust in government-appointed doctors pleading instead to be treated by doctors of her choice. She has complained about severe back pain since being sentenced last autumn to seven years in prison on abuse of office charges.
Earlier this year, a team of doctors from Germany and Canada confirmed that Tymoshenko is plagued by a serious illness, is not being treated properly and is in no condition to attend trials or regular prosecutorial interrogations.
Last week, a second criminal trial commenced against Tymoshenko. She did not attend the hearings due to health problems.
In the new trial, Tymoshenko faces tax evasion charges. Like the previous charges under which Tymoshenko was sentenced to prison, the new charges as well as claims by prosecutors that link her to a 1996 murder are viewed by the European Union and U.S. as politically motivated.
Tymoshenko has refused to be treated by government-appointed doctors calling instead for a team of independent German doctors to decide what treatment is needed and in which hospital.
According to Tymoshenko’s party, the German doctors in their recommendation advised Tymoshenko to be treated in a clinic specializing in back and spine problems, not a general clinic.
According to the conclusion by doctors from Berlin clinic Charite, Ukrainian authorities have made considerable steps to safeguard Tymoshenko’s health by providing quality medical treatment and conditions.
However, taking into account the peculiarities of the Tymoshenko case and her medical history, therapy at the Ukrzaliznytsia clinic in Kharkiv is unlikely to be successful, they said.
