Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has announced that three Canadian physicians will arrive in Kyiv this weekend to participate in the international medical commission that will assess the health of Yulia Tymoshenko, who is currently being held in the Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv, according to the Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.
“Canada is very pleased that our government’s interventions have paved the way for three Canadian doctors to participate in the international medical commission being established by the Government of Ukraine to independently assess the health of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko,” he said.
However, the Canadian foreign minister noted that there are some unresolved issues regarding access to the ex-premier. “While this is a welcome development, we hope that outstanding issues can be resolved expeditiously to allow doctors access to Ms. Tymoshenko as soon as possible. Ms. Tymoshenko’s health, diagnosis and treatment should remain the primary focus of all involved,” he said.
He reiterated Canada’s concern over the “apparently arbitrary and politically biased nature of judicial proceedings against Ms. Tymoshenko and other individuals, which undermine the rule of law.”
According to the statement, posted on the Government of Canada website, the doctors, who will arrive in Kyiv as early as this weekend, have asked that their names not be made public at this time.
In turn, lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko said the Ministry of Health is insisting that the commission be made up of 10 doctors – 5 foreign and 5 Ukrainians who they will appoint. "But why must there be five? To balance the foreign doctors and then say the commission was split?” he said.
According to him, Yulia Tymoshenko has given another written statement to the management of the Kachanivska penal colony saying that she is refusing the help of doctors appointed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health.
