the General Prosecutor's Office began examining the possible involvement of Tymoshenko and former prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko in the murder of Donetsk businessman Olexandr Momot in 1996. A trial concerning alleged misappropriating public funds of United Energy Systems of Ukraine started on 19 April 2012 in Kharkiv. Tymoshenko refused to attend the trial, citing problems with her health. Tymoshenko was then moved against her will from Kachanivska prison to a hospital where she began a hunger strike on 20 April to protest – according to her lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko – "what is happening in the country and what is happening to her in prison." She ended the hunger strike on 9 May 2012. Beginning on 9 May 2012, she received treatment at the hospital after being diagnosed with a spinal disc herniation. The Supreme Court of Ukraine upheld the verdict against Tymoshenko on 29 August 2012. From 29 October to 16 November 2012, Tymoshenko was again on a hunger strike to protest vote rigging in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election. Fatherland United Opposition nominated Tymoshenko as its candidate for the Ukrainian presidential elections of 2015 on 7 December 2012. On 14 June 2013, the congress of her party approved the decision to nominate her as its candidate in the 2015 Ukrainian presidential election. On 18 January 2013, Tymoshenko was notified that she was a suspect in the murder of businessman and lawmaker Yevhen Shcherban, his wife and two other people in 1996. In May 2013, the Shcherban murder case was suspended. From 25 November to 6 December 2013 (during the Euromaidan protests), Tymoshenko was again on a hunger strike in protest of "President Yanukovych's reluctance to sign the DCFTA" on 6 December. Appeal On 24 October 2011, Tymoshenko filed an appeal to the decision of Pechersk district court of Kyiv regarding the "gas case". On 1 December, the Kyiv Court of Appeal started hearing the case. Tymoshenko herself was not present in the courtroom because of her health condition. After the hearing, the judge, Olena Sitaylo, had to call an ambulance and was hospitalized. On 13 December 2011, the Kyiv Court of Appeal resumed the hearing. All subsequent court sessions took place without Tymoshenko's presence. Immediately prior to the hearing of the appeal, the board of judges was altered: Sitaylo, the chief justice, was appointed the day before the first hearing; other justices were appointed several days prior to