Tymoshenko said to receive treatment

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is receiving necessary medical treatment at the Kharkov penal colony where she is being held, officials said. The National Prison Service of Ukraine said she is receiving care and medication recommended by the Ministry of Health Commission, whose staff examined her Wednesday, RIA Novosti reported Saturday. The report comes two days after Serhiy Vlasenko, a lawyer for Tymoshenko, said the 51-year-old former prime minister's health has deteriorated in prison. He said outside the prison Thursday that Tymoshenko cannot move unaided, adding, "Probably, the main task of the Health Ministry's medical commission is to misinform the international community about the health condition of Yulia Tymoshenko." RIA Novosti said the ministry recommended she receive "therapeutic massage and a range of physical therapy and a follow-up checkup." She has been suffering from back pain and skin problems, her lawyers have said. Tymoshenko, who served as prime minister from December 2007 to March 2010, was sentenced to seven years in prison Oct. 11 for abuse of office in the 2009 signing of Russian gas contracts. She was also fined $200 million. Her conviction has been condemned as politically motivated by the United States, the European Union and human rights groups.