Yulia Tymoshenko to undergo treatment under German doctors’ supervision

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The former Prime Minister and opposition leader has tentatively agreed to have her her back condition treated at a local hospital under the supervision of a German doctor.

Tymoshenko lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko said the treatment of Tymoshenko's herniated disc will start Tuesday at a Kharkiv hospital after meeting with her lawyers next week.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle confirmed the deal securing treatment for Tymoshenko with the German doctors' participation, saying it was a positive first step and talks with the Ukrainian leadership to achieve a sustainable solution will continue.

Ms Tymoshenko has been on hunger strike for 2 weeks. She alleges she was subjected to physical violence by prison staff on 22 April.

As reported, Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka asserted on Friday that there were no grounds for saying that she had been beaten. He said that they did not rule out the possibility that she had hurt herself deliberately, and maintained that they could not make any conclusion without forensic medical examination, which she had refused to give consent to.

Pshonka also said that Ukrainian law does not let prisoners leave the country for medical treatment.

On Thursday, the European Union president, Herman Van Rompuy, announced he would not travel to any of next month’s Euro 2012 football matches in Ukraine in protest at Tymoshenko’s treatment, joining other top officials such as European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, and the governments of Austria and Belgium.   Thus far 12 Heads of State have indicated they will not be attending the Central European Presidential Summit in Yalta late next week.

From a report by Associated Press