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Pressure Group Urges 'Tymoshenko Beating' Probe

© Photo : Official Facebook account of Yulia TymoshenkoYulia Tymoshenko says she was beaten by prison guards as they were forcibly transferring her to a hospital
Yulia Tymoshenko says she was beaten by prison guards as they were forcibly transferring her to a hospital - Sputnik International
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Campaigning group Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday to investigate allegations that jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was assaulted by prison guards.

Campaigning group Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday to investigate allegations that jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was assaulted by prison guards.

"It is outrageous that Tymoshenko may have been beaten to force her to go to a hospital against her will," said Hugh Williamson, HRW's Europe and Central Asia director. "These allegations should be investigated and anyone responsible for ill-treatment should be prosecuted."

The statement comes after several European leaders said they were cancelling visits to Ukraine over Tymoshenko's mistreatment.

On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would boycott the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine, which is co-hosting the tournament with Poland, the Guardian newspaper reported.

On Monday, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said they would follow suit.

Five EU presidents, including Germany's Joachim Gauck, said they would not be travelling to a summit in Ukraine's Black Sea resort of Yalta next week.

On Friday, photos appeared showing bruises on Tymoshenko's 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 Kharkiv.

She has been on a hunger strike since April 20.

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.

She denies wrongdoing and says she is being persecuted by President Viktor Yanukovich.

Tymoshenko's daughter, Yevhenia, said on Monday her mother's life was "in danger" and described the authorities' treatement of her as "cynical" and "cruel."

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