KHARKIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has refused to be moved from prison to hospital on Tuesday, but left open the possibility of a move there on Wednesday, the state prison service said.

Tymoshenko had explained her position by saying she needed more time to discuss her situation with her lawyers, a prison service statement said.

The plight of Tymoshenko, a former prime minister who says she is being unjustly persecuted by her rival, President Viktor Yanukovich, has embittered the former Soviet republic's relations with the West and dented its international image.

She launched a hunger strike on April 20 in protest over what she said was brutal mistreatment in prison. She alleged prison guards beat her during a forced visit to hospital and her supporters circulated photographs showing bruises on her arms and abdomen. The authorities deny any mistreatment.

After authorities refused last week to release her to go abroad to Germany for treatment for back pains she tentatively agreed to be treated at a local hospital in Kharkiv under the supervision of German doctors. ?