Ukraine must take general measures to fulfill ECHR ruling on Lutsenko case, says CoE Committee of Ministers
Ukraine has to take general measures to fulfill the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the case of former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko in order to observe those requirements of the Convention on Human Rights that were violated.
The deputies of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved this decision following the consideration of the fulfillment of the ECHR's rulings on Lutsenko's case by Ukraine, an Interfax-Ukraine reporter in Brussels learned from the CoE on Friday.
The Committee of Ministers met on June 4-6 in Strasbourg. The court's ruling on Lutsenko's case regarding his groundless pre-trial detention took effect on November 19, 2012.
The decisions read that the deputies "recalled, with satisfaction, that the applicant was set free on April 7, 2013."
As for the fulfillment by Ukraine of the court's ruling regarding Article 5 (the right to liberty and security) of the Convention of Human Rights, the deputies noted that Lutsenko's case was "examined in the context of other groups of cases (the Kharchenko group of cases with respect to the violations of Article 5, paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 and the Nechyporuk and Yonkalo case with respect to the violation of Article 5, paragraph 2)."
"[The deputies] considered, as regards the violation of Article 18 [prohibition against applying permissible restrictions to rights], taken in conjunction with Article 5, that over and above the reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure, specific general measures are deemed necessary in order to ensure compliance with this requirement of the Convention in the Ukrainian justice system," reads the document.
In this context, the deputies "strongly encouraged the Ukrainian authorities to make full use of the co-operation programs" for the sake of prompt implementation of these measures.
The deputies also "invited the Ukrainian authorities to keep the committee regularly informed on developments in this field."
To sum up the consideration of Lutsenko's case, the deputies "invited the Ukrainian authorities to provide all the information necessary for a complete assessment of the question of individual measures."
On July 3, 2012, the ECHR issued a ruling declaring the arrest of Lutsenko 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 was detained on December 26, 2010.
Kyiv's Pechersky District Court found Lutsenko guilty of a number of counts of abuse of office and sentenced him to four years in prison on February 27, 2012.
On April 7, 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych pardoned Lutsenko, and the ex-minister was released from prison.