KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The health of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, detained on corruption charges, is "extremely grave," a human rights official said.
Tymoshenko is just over 100 days into a seven-year prison sentence she's serving on charges she abused her authority in a 2009 gas deal with Russia's Gazprom while serving as prime minister.
Nina Karpachova, head of the human rights commission in the Ukrainian Parliament, expressed concern about the former prime minister's health.
"Tymoshenko's condition is extremely grave, she could not get out of bed when talking to me," she was quoted by the Interfax news agency in Ukraine as saying. "She needs examination and treatment outside the detention center."
Tymoshenko's daughter expressed similar concerns during a recent interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It's not immediately clear what's attributing to Tymoshenko's declining health, however.
Her supporters have expressed frustration that authorities continue to question Tymoshenko while she's bedridden in a prison cell.
She denies the charges and her Western supporters believe the case against her is politically motivated. Tymoshenko lost a bruising campaign to pro-Kremlin Viktor Yanukovych during 2010 presidential elections in Ukraine.
