KIEV, Jan. 9 — The Czech Republic granted political asylum on Friday to the husband of the jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who said he sought refuge to prevent the authorities from putting pressure on her through her family, The New York Times reported.

The husband, Oleksandr Tymoshenko, left Ukraine late last year and formally applied for asylum shortly before the new year, said Natalya Lysova, a spokeswoman for Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna Party.