The Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner, Valeria Lutkovska, has said she is not planning to intervene in an incident involving former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, in which his wife and defense lawyer, Iryna Lutsenko, was not allowed to see him in hospital after surgery, as a meeting, according to the ombudsperson, is not envisaged by law.

When asked how the human rights commissioner would respond to a respective statement made by Lutsenko's wife, Lutkovska said: "I will not respond in this case, as the law of Ukraine foresees that a convicted person, who is in a medical facility, has no right to have meetings, get parcels etc."

She said that in this case, the law lays down a specific procedure, which she cannot change.

"Generally, when a person is in a medical facility, especially after surgery, I think that relatives receive information from doctors," she added.

The former interior minister has been serving a sentence in the Mena colony, Chernihiv region, since late August 2012, for several crimes involving the abuse of office.

Lutsenko agreed to undergo surgery to remove an adhesion in his intestine in late December 2012. The surgery was expected to take place in early January. Larysa Sarhan, press officer for the People's Self-Defense Party, said Lutsenko would be treated in a private clinic in Kyiv at his own expense.

Lutsenko was transported to the clinic on January 20. On January 23, it became known that Lutsenko had undergone surgery.