Jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is not in a condition to attend court hearings, a German doctor said on Friday.
“No, Tymoshenko is unable to participate in court proceedings,” Karl Einhaupl, chief of the Charite Clinic, said.
Earlier in the day a team of German doctors arrived in Kharkov to examine the conditions of the hospital that the Ukrainian authorities had proposed for Tymoshenko’s treatment.
Tymoshenko has been given permission to receive medical treatment outside prison. The Ukrainian Health Ministry said she would undergo a course of treatment at the spinal and peripheral nervous system department of Kharkov’s Central Clinic Ukrzaliznytsi.
Tymoshenko said she would not commit herself either way until a new examination by foreign doctors is conducted.
The former prime minister previously said she would like to go to a Berlin clinic and has repeatedly refused treatment in the prison where she is serving her sentence.
Supporters of the jailed politician claim Tymoshenko’s health has deteriorated since her pre-trial detention began in August 2011 and that she is no longer able to walk due to back problems.
In October 2011, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of abuse of office for exceeding her authority in signing a 2009 gas deal with Russia. Her trial was condemned by both the European Union and Russia as politically motivated.
She is currently serving her sentence in a women’s prison near Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkov.
