The first photos of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko after her alleged beating by prison officials on the way to the hospital have emerged in the press.

The photos were uploaded to Facebook by Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Portnikov, who says they were given to him by a diplomatic source. He says the photos have also been shown to the Ukrainian ombudsman and Western diplomats.

The photos were taken after an incident earlier this week, when Tymoshenko, in jail for alleged fraud and other offenses, resisted being taken to a government hospital in Ukraine to treat a serious spinal condition, saying she didn't trust the doctors there. She claimed she was then beaten and forcefully taken to the facility by prison guards.

While officials have denied this, Tymoshenko has since gone on a hunger strike in protest of the treatment.