KIEV, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, jailed under the previous ruling regime and freed last week, will start treatment in Germany in March, her spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Spokeswoman Marina Soroka said Tymoshenko, whose back problems seriously worsened during her 2011 trial and subsequent detention, will be admitted to the Charite hospital in Berlin after attending a summit of the European People’s Party in Dublin on March 6-7.
The parliament issued a decree on Saturday to release Tymoshenko from a hospital in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where she had been kept under prison guard since May 2013.
Tymoshenko, who came to international prominence as the heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution, was jailed in 2011 over alleged irregularities in a natural gas deal with Russia in 2009 that she concluded while serving as prime minister.
The ex-premier’s relatives and lawyers repeatedly stated last year that she suffered from severe back pain and was no longer able to move without help.
The freeing of Tymoshenko and her treatment in Europe was an EU precondition for Kiev to be able to sign accession and free-trade agreements with Brussels.
A surprise last-minute rejection of the deal sparked nationwide protests that evolved into a violent anti-government uprising and led to the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych and his close allies.
