Tymoshenko agrees to medical treatment outside prison

KIEV - Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has agreed to obtain medical treatment outside the prison where she is being held on an abuse of power conviction, officials said Friday.

"German physicians jointly with doctors from the Ukraine's Prison Service today held a meeting with Tymoshenko. As a result of the meeting, Tymoshenko gave preliminary approval for hospital treatment at the out-of-prison health center," Raisa Moiseenko, the first deputy health minister, was quoted by Interfax-Ukraine news agency as saying.

A German doctor will monitor Tymoshenko's treatment for a bad back, Moiseenko said.

The treatment of the former prime minister in hospital will be "another joint step" to resolve the issue of Tymoshenko's poor health, Moiseenko said.

Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year sentence, has been suffering from severe back pains since her conviction.

The ex-premier was jailed in October 2011 for exceeding her power in a 2009 gas deal with Russia. On December 30, Tymoshenko was moved to a prison from a detention center where she has been held since August.

On April 2, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka ordered the State Penitentiary Service and the Health Ministry to ensure Tymoshenko's medical examination and treatment outside jail.

The former premier was taken to a specialized health center outside the Kachanivska penal colony in mid-April but refused to undergo a medical check there.