President Viktor Yanukovych has appealed to the commission on pardons to immediately consider freeing one of the nation's top political prisoners, former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, his press service said.
His appeal comes in response to a letter from Ukraine’s Ombudswoman for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska, and just two days after High Specialized Court of Ukraine upheld Lutsenko’s earlier sentence of four years in prison. A ruling of Kyiv Pechersk District Court in 2012 sentenced him for exceeding his authority as a minister.
Lutsenko has one year and nine months left to serve, a fact that was also referred to in the letter by Lutkovska. Another request for Lutsenko’s pardon also came from former Environment Minister Heorhiy Filipchuk, his press service said.
“Today, his health need constant supervision and control in specialized medical institutions, which are difficult to effectively provide in the conditions of serving a sentence,” Lutkovska wrote.
Lutsenko’s wife called the suprising appeal a positive step.
“To be honest, I am shocked by this appeal by Valeriya Lutkovska as to her request to pardon my husband,” Iryna Lutsenko told UNIAN news agency.”Regardless of certain tensions in her relations with the opposition, she made the right step. Especially since she personally knows about the state of health of Lutsenko because she has visited him many times in prison and was interested in his health, treatment and so on.”
Previously, the president has received a similar appeal from former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski and former European Parliament President Pat Cox, who co-chair a special mission of the European Parliament designed to find a solution in the cases of top political prisoners in Ukraine. Addressing this issue is one of key conditions for Ukraine to be able to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union this November. The president had said he will look into Lutsenko’s case once he has exhausted all means of fighting in court.
“Considering your position, dear Viktor Fedorovych, about the need to humanize the penitentiary system, and also considering the European human rights standards which envisage provision of effective medical assistance to the people who are serving in prisons, I ask you to pardon Lutsenko Yuriy Vitaliyovych and free him from the main punishment based on article 85 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine,” the ombudswoman wrote.
The president’s press service said in statement that he requested that his commission on pardon considers there appeals “immediately” and offers its findings for the president’s consideration.
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at gorchinskaya@kyivpost.com.
