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Timoshenko agrees to undergo medical treatment outside prison

Timoshenko’s lawyer Sergei Vlasenko confirmed that his defendant’s treatment at the hospital should be discussed with German medics

KIEV, April 2 (Itar-Tass) —— Former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko has agreed to undergo medical treatemnt outside the penal colony where she is serving her term in the eastern Kharkov region.

Timoshenko was offered a course of treatment at the central clinical hospital in Kharkov. “This is the best health facility we have. Yulia Vladimirovna agreed and we can begin at any time,” First Deputy Health Minister Raisa Moiseyenko said on Monday, April 2.

She said that Timoshenko has taken time for consultations. “I hope that the decision will be made after the consultations,” Moiseyenko said.

She confirmed that that the proposed hospital has a department specialising in spinal column problems, equipment and specialists.

“German specialists can be engaged for the treatment of Yulia Timoshenko, if they wish so,” Nikolai Korzh, Director of the Institute of Spinal Column Pathology, said.

Timoshenko’s lawyer Sergei Vlasenko confirmed that his defendant’s treatment at the hospital should be discussed with German medics.

“In order to understand to what degree this hospital meets their recommendations, they need to be invited there to come and say whether the operation they have advised can be performed there or not,” he said.

The Prosecutor General's Office said earlier in the day that German and Canadian medics examined Timoshenko for five hours at Kachanivska Penal Colony No. 54 where Timoshenko is serving her prison term in the presence of Ukrainian specialists from the international medical group. The German medics completed the examination and left, having placed their findings in a sealed envelope.

“After the end of the examination Timoshenko will be familiarised with the German medics' findings contained in a sealed envelopes, which will confirm the independent work of the international medical group,” the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Timoshenko fell ill on August 18, 2011, two weeks after her arrest. Her lawyers say that she “has been in bed for about four months”.

Medics believe that Timoshenko has discal hernia. She has been complaining about pains in the back. Her lawyers claim that her condition was worsening despite medical treatment.

Timoshenko mistrusts Ukrainian medics and rejected their help. She insists that she be examined by independent medics.

On October 11, 2011, Timoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for having acted in excess of her powers which had resulted in damage to national interests.