WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is deeply concerned over the treatment of former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and called on authorities in Kyiv to ensure she receives immediate medical attention.
Clinton said in a statement Tuesday the U.S. was requesting that its ambassador be given access to Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko, 51, is serving a seven-year jail sentence in a case the West has called politically motivated. Ukraine's president is a fierce rival of Tymoshenko but government officials have denied any claims of bias in the case.
Clinton said photographs of Tymoshenko released by a human rights official call into question the conditions of her confinement. Clinton also expressed concern at the treatment of imprisoned officials in Tymoshenko's former government and called for their release.