Iryna Lutsenko, the wife of former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and his defense counsel, has said she was pleasantly shocked that Human Rights Commissioner Valeria Lutkovska asked Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to pardon the ex-minister.
"Frankly speaking, I'm shocked by this statement by Valeria Lutkovska regarding the request to pardon my husband. Despite some tension regarding her attitude to the opposition, she made the right step. She is personally aware of Yuriy Lutsenko's condition, as she has repeatedly visited him in prison and was interested in his health, treatment, etc," the press service of the People's Self-Defense Party quoted Lutsenko as saying on Saturday.
Lawyer Oleksiy Bahanets did not rule out that the ombudsperson's appeal to the president could be satisfied.
"I'm one hundred percent sure that this request has to be fulfilled, and the president himself has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of pardoning [Lutsenko], taking into account Ukraine's desire to become a full member of the European community," he said.
As reported, on April 6, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych proposed that the presidential commission on pardons urgently consider the request by Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Valeria Lutkovska to pardon former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko.
On February 27, 2012, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv found Lutsenko guilty of committing official crimes and sentenced him to four years in prison.
On August 17, 2012, Lutsenko was also charged with interfering in an investigative case concerning Valentyn Davydenko, the driver of former SBU First Deputy Chief Volodymyr Satsiuk, as part of an investigation into the poisoning of then presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko.
Kyiv's Court of Appeals upheld the verdicts.
On April 3, 2013, the Higher Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases upheld a decision by Kyiv's Pechersky District Court, which was confirmed by Kyiv's Court of Appeals, sentencing Lutsenko to four years in prison for committing official crimes, and reduced the amount of money that Lutsenko is obliged to pay the Interior Ministry under a civil action by UAH 35,000.
The announcement of the court decision on Lutsenko's second cassation appeal is scheduled for April 10, 2013.
Lutsenko was detained on December 25, 2010. On July 3, 2012, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling declaring that the arrest of Lutsenko was a violation of his human rights. Moreover, the court ordered the Ukrainian government to pay EUR 15,000 to the ex-minister as compensation for moral damages. The state paid the compensation.
Lutsenko and his family have repeatedly stated that they will not seek a pardon from the president, because they believe the charges against him are groundless and see them as political punishment.
