PACE to decide whether Tymoshenko, Lutsenko are political prisoners, says Reps

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is planning to analyze the situation with the criminal cases against former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko, and decide whether they are political prisoners.

"Now we have to analyze the situation thoroughly in the light of the decision approved by PACE [resolution of PACE on Ukraine]. We don't want to take a clearly political decision, we also need legal analysis," PACE co-rapporteur for Ukraine Mailis Reps said in an interview with the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper.

She added that a decision of PACE may open a new page in the situation with the criminal cases against former government officials. Yes, the assembly has approved the definition, but now the legal committee of PACE should analyze the situations in countries that were earlier suspected of having political prisoners – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine and Russia. The committee will hold hearings and learn opinions of experts from a number of countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as a representative of the ECHR [European Court of Human Rights]. The committee will take a decision as soon as it analyzes their opinion and the position of the Amnesty International," she said.

According to Reps, there are two ways the situation might proceed.

"If we are speaking about drawing up of a special resolution of PACE, it will take two to three years. And if we are speaking about hearings at the legal committee, then we will complete the task in half a year. But today it is not clear what conclusion we will make and whether we will make any conclusion," she said.

When asked whether an ECHR ruling is needed to confirm that a person is a political prisoner, Reps said: "It's not necessary. Yes, we will consult with the court, but political agencies will take the decisions."