KIEV, October 18 (RIA Novosti) – A bill submitted to Ukraine’s parliament Friday may enable jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seek medical treatment abroad – a development that would lead to a boost in relations between Kiev and the European Union.
Changes to the criminal code proposed by Mykola Rudkovskyi of the ruling Regions Party would allow convicts to appeal in court for permission to go abroad for treatment if they cannot receive it in Ukraine.
The legislation would require convicts to return to Ukraine to finish their sentence after treatment is completed.
President Viktor Yanukovych, who is the honorary leader of the Regions Party, said this week that he would sign off on such legislation if it were passed by parliament. It is unclear when the bill is to be considered by Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison on abuse of power charges in 2011 over her role in brokering a gas agreement with Russia in 2009.
Tymoshenko has always insisted the jailing was politically motivated and has gained the support of the EU, which has urged Kiev to pardon her.
The former prime minister’s plight has hindered Ukraine’s ambitions to solder its relationship with the European Union.
Stefan Fule, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, said this week that the EU was waiting for a decision on Tymoshenko before an association agreement keenly sought by Kiev could be signed.
Tymoshenko, who came to prominence during the Orange Revolution protests that led to overturning of Yanukovych’s tainted presidential election victory in 2004, has been undergoing treatment in a Kharkiv hospital in eastern Ukraine for over a year while in custody.
Yanukovych’s election win in 2004 was widely believed to have been the outcome of widespread electoral fraud, but he successfully ran for president in 2010 after spending five years among the ranks of the opposition.
