Tymoshenko cleared for medical treatment

KIEV, Ukraine, April 2 (UPI) -- A Ukrainian prosecutor said former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was granted permission to get medical treatment outside of prison.

Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year jail sentence at a women's prison in Kharkov after a conviction on charges she abused her authority in a 2009 natural gas deal with Russian company Gazprom.

Her supporters claim she's been unable to walk unassisted because of back problems. Her health began to decline when she was detained in August, they said.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka said Monday the jailed opposition is cleared for medical treatment outside Kharkov prison, reports Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

It's not clear where she would seek treatment, though RIA Novosti notes she's expressed interest in a clinic in Berlin.

Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama raised "U.S. concerns about selective prosecutions of the political opposition" during talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at a nuclear security summit in Seoul.

Tymoshenko denies any wrongdoing and her supporters say the charges are politically motivated. She lost an election to Yanukovych in 2010.