Prison takes toll on Tymoshenko glamor

This combination of two photos shows on the left, in a Dec. 29, 2009 file photo, then Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko speaking to the media in Kiev, Ukraine, and on the right, in a photo provided by Ukrainian Pravda, taken Wednesday, April 25, 2012, Tymoshenko shows bruises on her body to the Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights in Kachanovskaya prison in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which she said she sustained when prison guards attacked her on Friday April 20 when trying to transport her to a local hospital against her will. (AP Photos)

By The Associated Press, None

April 27, 2012 10:05 AM PT

KIEV, Ukraine —

A long trial and seventh months in prison have taken a toll on the vivid glamor that Yulia Tymoshenko once radiated.

The former Ukrainian prime minister and heroine of the Orange Revolution was as much of a style icon as a democracy icon - dazzling the world with her famous peasant-style braid, elegant couture and confident charisma.

Now, she looks wan and world-weary, the vibrant glow in her blond hair faded. The braid’s still there but it lies limply on her shoulder. In pictures taken of her in prison, she lies in bed displaying bruises that she claims come from prison guards.

She complains of excruciating back pain and refuses treatment by local doctors, fearing they will make her worse.

Tymoshenko’s case has prompted strong criticism from the West as politically motivated. Tymoshenko says it is revenge by her arch-foe, President Viktor Yanukovych.