Europarl observers visiting Tymoshenko
KHARKIV. May 26 (Interfax) - European Parliament's ex-president Pat Cox and former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski have arrived at the clinic in Kharkiv, where former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is undergoing medical treatment.
The European Parliament's motorcade entered the clinic's courtyard at 4:15 p.m. Moscow time to hear Tymoshenko's sympathizers chanting: "Freedom to Yulia!" an Interfax correspondent reported.
Earlier, Deputy Head of the State Penitentiary Service Oleksandr Duka, the regional penitentiary service chief Yevhen Barash, Prosecutor of the Kharkiv region Hennadiy Tyurin and Oversight Prosecutor Igor Krasnolobov had arrived.
The European Parliament's representatives plan to stay in Ukraine until May 28 and meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss issues covered by their mandate.
Cox and Kwasniewski were appointed to monitor Tymoshenko's trials, and started working on June 11 2012 by agreement between Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and European Parliament President Martin Schultz.
Their mandate was later extended to monitor the trials of ex-interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko and ex-acting defense minister Valeriy Ivashchenko.
Their report was discussed in Strasbourg on April 18 at a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament and their mission was extended until September 2013.