Ukraine's Prosecutors Refuse to Open Tymoshenko Assault Case

Viktor Pshonka, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine speaks during his press conference in Kiev, Ukraine, 04 May 2012. EPA/BGNES

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has refused to initiate criminal proceedings on jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's assault and battery claim.

At the same time, however, an Ukrainian prosecutor said Tymoshenko may appeal the decision in court.

"I believe it is Tymoshenko's right to appeal the Prosecutor's Office decision in court," Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka said, as cited by RIA Novosti.

Last week, photos appeared showing Tymoshenko with bruises on her body, which she claims were inflicted by prison guards as they were forcibly transferring her to a hospital. Tymoshenko, who is suffering from severe back pain and has been diagnosed with a herniated spinal disc, is being held at a penal colony in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov.

Ukrainian prosecutors have denied the allegations, saying the bruises were the result of Tymoshenko's "pushing against blunt objects."

Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and heroine of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, was jailed for seven years in October last year for abuse of office in what Western governments said was a politically motivated trial. She faces another trial on embezzlement charges.

Tymoshenko has been sentenced to seven years in jail for abuse of power for making a natural gas supply contract with Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after the 2009 Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis, which is said to have been unfavorable for Ukraine.

The jailed ex Prime Minister claims that her political rival, President Viktor Yanukovych, is using the country's judiciary to punish her. She denies wrongdoing and says she is being persecuted by President Viktor Yanukovych.

Meanwhile, Tymoshenko, who suffers from spine hernia problems, has tentatively agreed to undergo treatment in a hospital in Kharkov, eastern Ukraine, under the condition that a German doctor monitors her condition, a joint statement of Ukrainian and German doctors said.

Previously, she refused to accept treatment in the Kharkov hospital, citing German doctors' recommendations. The course of treatment is expected to begin on May 8.

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