[JURIST] Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General [official website, in Ukrainian] on Monday granted a request [statement, in Ukrainian] for former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website; JURIST news archive] to receive medical treatment outside of the jail in which she is being imprisoned. Tymoshenko will be able to receive treatment in Ukrainian facilities [AFP report] for back pain after she suffered a slipped disk [BBC report]. Reports indicate Tymoshenko has refused to be treated by Ukrainian doctors in the prison because she believes they are acting under the direction of her rival, current Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych [BBC profile]. The Prosecutor General’s grant of Tymoshenko’s request comes after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) urged the Ukrainian government [JURIST report] to ensure that the former prime minister receive adequate medical treatment.

Tymoshenko is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence after she was convicted of abusing her power [JURIST report] during her service as prime minister. In December the EU policy chief criticized the court of appeals [JURIST report] in Tymoshenko’s case for not addressing the actual legal issues of the case. Earlier that month, Tymoshenko ended her appeal in Ukrainian courts [JURIST report] in order to focus on appeals in the ECHR. Her initial appeal was denied [JURIST report] that same month.