Ukrainian prosecutors say ex-PM may be faking illness

(KIEV) - Imprisoned former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko may be faking sickness to avoid attending her appeal hearings, prosecutors claimed Wednesday.

Tymoshenko is serving seven years in prison for abuse of authority for agreeing gas contracts with Russia in 2009, a verdict the European Union has said was politically motivated.

A Kiev court this week has been hearing Tymoshenko's appeal. As with earlier hearings, her lawyers said she could not attend the hearings because of debilitating back pains.

But government prosecutor Lilia Frolova was doubtful.

"We get the impression that she is faking her condition," Frolova said.

Prison authorities, too, have been skeptical about the 51-year-old's health problems but she was transferred to hospital in November.

Clashes broke out Wednesday between police and Tymoshenko supporters outside court.

Tymoshenko insists her sentence was ordered by President Viktor Yanukovych as punishment for daring to oppose his rule'. Her prison term has also been criticised by the European Union.

Ukraine has now charged Tymoshenko in a separate case with embezzlement and tax evasion while she headed energy firm United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) in the 1990s.

Ukraine and EU officials are due to meet at a December 19 summit in Kiev to discuss the country's first steps towards joining the European Union.