Viktor Yuschenko before (left) and after his mysterious illness

Speaking on his return to Kiev a day after Austrian doctors established he had been poisoned, Yushchenko said he did not want the case to affect campaigning for his runoff against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich on Dec. 26.

Yushchenko welcomed prosecutors reopening a case into what he has long said was a bid to kill him. Though in good physical shape, his face remains bloated and pocked.

Doctors at the Rudolfinerhaus clinic in Vienna said Dec. 11 that Yushchenko had been the victim of dioxin poisoning but were unable to say whether it was the result of a deliberate act.

Yushchenko fell ill Sept. 6 and was rushed to the clinic four days later with severe abdominal pain and lesions on his face and trunk. His liver, pancreas and intestines were swollen, and his digestive tract covered in ulcers, but doctors could not explain the symptoms.

Prosecutors launched an investigation after Yushchenko first underwent treatment in September, but the case was later closed.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 18, 2004
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