Authorities at the Kachaniv labor camp near the Ukrainian eastern city of Kharkiv have granted permission for former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to see her daughter and mother.
Officials announced unexpectedly on March 8 that Tymoshenko's relatives would be allowed to visit with the onetime Orange Revolution heroine in the penitentiary’s visiting room for up to three days -- between March 9 and 11.
Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence there over charges that she and supporters, as well as many Western governments, say are politically motivated.
The announcement by state penitentiary officials -- which came on International Women's Day, which is keenly observed throughout much of the former Soviet Union -- also said that all inmates at the labor camp are allowed to have a three-day meeting with their relatives every three months.
Tymoshenko has been jailed since October after being sentenced for abuse of office in connection with a Russian gas deal when she was prime minister.
Tymoshenko's legal representatives have criticized the conditions of her captivity -- including 24-hour monitoring that includes lighting through the night.
Her daughter has repeatedly complained of not being able to speak by telephone or visit her mother, about whose health she has expressed serious concerns.
Officials announced unexpectedly on March 8 that Tymoshenko's relatives would be allowed to visit with the onetime Orange Revolution heroine in the penitentiary’s visiting room for up to three days -- between March 9 and 11.
Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence there over charges that she and supporters, as well as many Western governments, say are politically motivated.
The announcement by state penitentiary officials -- which came on International Women's Day, which is keenly observed throughout much of the former Soviet Union -- also said that all inmates at the labor camp are allowed to have a three-day meeting with their relatives every three months.
WATCH: An RFE/RL interview with Yevhenia Tymoshenko about her mother's imprisonment
Tymoshenko has been jailed since October after being sentenced for abuse of office in connection with a Russian gas deal when she was prime minister.
Yulia Tymoshenko and her daughter, Yevhenia, at a court session in Kyiv in October, when the former prime minister was convicted.
Tymoshenko's legal representatives have criticized the conditions of her captivity -- including 24-hour monitoring that includes lighting through the night.
Her daughter has repeatedly complained of not being able to speak by telephone or visit her mother, about whose health she has expressed serious concerns.