Thursday

30th Mar 2023

Tymoshenko family lukewarm on EU parliament doctors

The family of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has asked the EU parliament to change its plan on medical monitoring in case the original one is counter-productive.

Parliament President Martin Schulz last week agreed with Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov "to propose a group of international doctors" - potentially from the Red Cross - to make sure she gets proper treatment for back pains.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • 'She has already been diagnosed and she has the attention of an independent doctor' (Photo: Wikipedia)

He later tasked Polish centre-right MEP Jacek Protasiewicz to put it into action.

Tymoshenko's daughter, Eugenia, told EUobserver from Kiev on Thursday (24 May) her mother does not want the extra medical help in case it creates "confusion," however.

"She has already been diagnosed and she has the attention of an independent doctor [from the Charite institute in Germany] ... It could lead to confusion and disinformation by the Ukrainian authorities. It might give them the chance to falsify information and confuse people," she said.

"We are fighting a media war with the system."

She told Schulz when they met in Strasbourg on Tuesday the parliament-nominated doctors should be sent to look after Yuriy Lutsenko and Valeriy Ivashchenko instead.

The two former Tymoshenko ministers are also in prison, with Eugenia saying that Lutsenko has hepatitis and "might die."

She last saw her mother on Friday in a prison-run hospital. She said she was "very weak" after her recent hunger strike, "lying down and in a lot of pain," but also in "a little better mood."

Her priority is to get her into a normal hospital because she is under "psychological pressure" in the current location - her bed is being videoed by three CCTV cameras, she has only male but no female guards in attendance and authorities are interfering in doctors' work.

Eugenia voiced gratitude for Schulz' initiative despite the misgivings on doctors.

She said the second part of his scheme - to nominate an internationally-respected personality to oversee her mother's legal appeal - is "very important."

The case is to be heard on 26 June after a postponement. But unless her mother is exonerated of charges of abuse of office by 13 August she will not be able to register as a candidate for parliamentary elections in October, inviting a thumbs down on democratic standards by international observers.

On the Euro 2012 boycott, Eugenia said EU politicians should feel free to "enjoy" the games but in a private capacity and not go as state guests.

She predicted ordinary Ukrainians will exploit the event to stage protests unless "political prisoners" are freed before it begins.

EU ministers disagree on Ukraine boycott

Poland and Sweden have questioned the value of a sports boycott on Ukraine, but Austria and Belgium back the idea, while others are waiting for new developments.

Opinion

Why do 83% of Albanians want to leave Albania?

As autocracies collapsed across Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, Albanians had high expectations that democracy and a free-market economy would bring a better life. But Albania's transition from dictatorship to democracy has been uneven and incomplete.

Column

What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking

Perhaps even more surprising to the West was the fact that the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal was not brokered by the United States, or the European Union, but by the People's Republic of China. Since when was China mediating peace agreements?

Latest News

  1. Firms will have to reveal and close gender pay-gap
  2. Why do 83% of Albanians want to leave Albania?
  3. Police violence in rural French water demos sparks protests
  4. Work insecurity: the high cost of ultra-fast grocery deliveries
  5. The overlooked 'crimes against children' ICC arrest warrant
  6. EU approves 2035 phaseout of polluting cars and vans
  7. New measures to shield the EU against money laundering
  8. What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us