KIEV — The daughter of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says her mother may require surgery.
Tymoshenko, 51, the country's top opposition leader, is serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted of abuse of office.
A group of Canadian and German doctors was allowed to examine Tymoshenko at her request last week, but they have made no public statements.
Tymoshenko's daughter, Eugenia Tymoshenko, told Radio Free Europe's Russian service that the German doctors concluded that she has a hernia and may need surgery if prison doctors continue to mistreat her.
Tymoshenko says her mother is bedridden and cannot sleep because of the pain but still has to take part in hours-long interrogations as part of a slew of new investigations.
"This shows that they are trying to slowly kill her," Tymoshenko was quoted as saying.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Svitlana Tikhonenko on Monday denied that the foreign doctors had recommended surgery and said Tymoshenko does not require an operation.
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