Ukraine allows Tymoshenko's treatment outside jail

KIEV - The Associated Press

In this file photo taken on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is pictured during her trial, at the Pecherskiy District Court in Kiev, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian authorities say they will allow jailed former premier Yulia Tymoshenko to leave prison to be treated for a back condition at a local hospital.

Prosecutors' spokesman Yuri Boichenko said today that Tymoshenko will be treated at a specialized medical clinic in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where she is serving a seven-year sentence.

The 51-year-old opposition leader was convicted in October on charges of tax evasion. The verdict has strained Ukraine's ties with the West, which condemned the verdict as politically motivated.

German doctors who examined her last month concluded that she suffers from intense pain and needs urgent treatment in a specialized clinic. Tymoshenko's family said she suffers from a herniated disc.