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German doctors examining jailed Timoshenko

Timoshenko went on a hunger strike on April 20 after personnel of the Kharkov penitentiary allegedly used force against her during the transfer to the hospital

KIEV, May 4 (Itar-Tass) — A Ukrainian-German medical commission has arrived in the Kharkov penitentiary for examining ex-Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, the Ukrainian State Penitentiary Service announced on Friday.

Due to the medical commission’s work, Timoshenko’s lawyers Sergei Sas and Yevgenia Timoshenko were not permitted to meet her. The service said the penitentiary warden denied the meeting in line with the Ukrainian Criminal Code of Practice and the penitentiary rules.

Batkivshchyna Party First Deputy Chairman Alexander Turchinov said earlier in the day that the hunger strike of Timoshenko, which had been on for 15 days, endangered her health. “Timoshenko has significantly lost in weight. She does not eat. She only drinks water,” he said.

Timoshenko went on a hunger strike on April 20 after personnel of the Kharkov penitentiary allegedly used force against her during the transfer to the hospital.

Timoshenko is serving a seven-year-term in Kharkov. The court sentenced her on October 11, 2011, for exceeding her authority in the signing of the gas contracts with Russia in 2009.