Former Ukraine PM Asks Permission To Miss Trial

Yulia Tymoshenko (file photo)

Jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has asked the authorities to permit her to miss her tax-evasion trial due to resume on July 31.

State Penitentiary Service officials said on July 30 that Tymoshenko had written an official request asking that she be allowed to be absent.

German doctors who have examined Tymoshenko told journalists she needs eight more weeks of rest in order to secure her recovery.

The new trial is connected to allegations that Tymoshenko evaded millions of dollars in taxes in connection with a private energy company she headed in the 1990s.

The trial was postponed to July 31 last week after Tymoshenko refused to attend, citing health concerns.

She is serving a seven-year sentence on abuse of power charges allegedly committed when she was prime minister.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax