Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has said that he will go on a hunger strike from Friday, April 22, after Kyiv Court of Appeals decided to extend his arrest until May 26.
"Yes, I’ll go on a hunger strike tomorrow," he told reporters on Thursday, after the announcement of a court ruling to extend his arrest for five months – until May 26.
When asked how long he would be on hunger strike, Lutsenko said: "As long as I can under these conditions in jail."
He said that a hunger strike was the only way to protest against "an ungrounded court ruling to extend my arrest."
Lutsenko has been held in Lukyanivka jail since Dec. 26, 2010.
He was charged under Part 5, Article 191 (the large-scale embezzlement of state property through the abuse of office, under a preliminary collusion by a group of individuals), Part 3, Article 365 (the abuse of office, which led to grave consequences) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and Part 3, Article 364 (the abuse of power and office by a law enforcer, which caused damage to citizens’ rights as protected by the law).
On Jan. 28, the pre-trail investigation into the criminal case against Lutsenko and three more former officials of the ministry evaluated the damage caused by them to the state at over Hr 970,000.
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