Defense attorney to turn to ECHR over Tymoshenko's delayed surgery

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's defense attorney plans to file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against the slow-moving decision making on Tymoshenko's surgery.

"The complaint has been written as part of a larger complaint, and we insist that Yulia Vladimirovna be provided with adequate medical treatment in compliance with Rule 39 of the ECHR's regulations. We will take all legal measures to guarantee the administering of justice," Serhiy Vlasenko told Interfax.

The date of submission will be set shortly, he said.

Vlasenko said that the ECHR applied Rule 39 to Tymoshenko' circumstances in March 2012, urging the Ukrainian government to guarantee medical treatment for Tymoshenko in an appropriate medical environment. As a result, Tymoshenko was moved from a prison in Kharkiv to a city hospital.

He also said that the defense team and Tymoshenko's relatives will intensify the dialogue with the attending doctors from the Charite clinic.

"We will try to intensify dialogue with the German doctors this week, for us to understand by next week what will happen afterwards," he said.

Tymoshenko's daughter Yevhenia said on July 1, citing German doctors, that her mother was in need of an urgent surgery.