Forensic experts who examined ex-Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko following her claims she was beaten by prison guards found bruises on her body but could not determine their origin, the head of the Forensic Medicine Department of the Kharkov Medical Academy, Alexander Gurov, said on Thursday.
“They acknowledged that there are two bruises on Yulia Tymoshenko’s body,” Gurov said at a press conference. At the same time he said that it is not possible to determine the origin of the injuries since Tymoshenko did not allow experts to see her for a second time.
Last week, photos were circulated in the media showing Tymoshenko with bruises on her body that she claims were inflicted by prison guards as they forcibly transferred her to a hospital. She was transferred on Wednesday from the prison in Kharkov, where she is serving a seven-year sentence, to a local hospital for treatment for back pains.
Gurov said that the chamber of the Chief Medical Women’s Prison, the duty doctor, duty nurse and prison staff visited Tymoshenko. “They drew up the record of the visit ... This is the only written document that shows changes on the body of Yulia Tymoshenko,” Gurov added.
The photos of Tymoshenko that were posted on the internet will also help experts to establish the truth. “Bruises can possibly be caused by compression of the body,” he said.
On Tuesday, Ukraine had to call off a Central European summit in Yalta after some European leaders refused to attend the event over alleged ill-treatment of the pro-Western ex-premier.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said European leaders had decided to skip the summit even before the scandal erupted around Tymoshenko’s alleged mistreatment in prison.
On Wednesday, Tymoshenko ended the hunger strike she had begun in protest against her cruel treatment in prison. She had fasted for nearly 20 days.
