The lawyers of Ukrainian ex-Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko will again ask the court to release the former minister from custody for treatment, and not only for a medical examination.
"It has been reported in the online media that Judge Serhiy Vovk gave permission for a medical examination to be conducted at a hospital… We presume that he could be sent for additional examination. But we are striving to get him treatment. At a hearing on Sept. 19, we will again petition for a change in Lutsenko′s punishment," the ex-minister′s lawyer, Ihor Fomin, said during a panel discussion entitled "Ukrainian-Style Justice" on Wednesday.
On Sept. 13 Kyiv′s Pechersky District Court gave permission for an additional medical examination of Lutsenko outside the detention facility, according to the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine.
"It is planned to hold the additional examination in the near future at one of Kyiv′s special medical establishments with the participation of a commission from the Health Ministry," reads the statement.
Lutsenko has been held in jail since Dec. 26, 2010.
Kyiv Court of Appeals on April 21 extended Lutsenko’s arrest until May 26, and after that he announced his intention to go on hunger strike from April 22.
On Sept. 1 Lutsenko’s defense team and family claimed that his health and life were in danger.
At a press conference his wife said that he had been diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis, which could lead to cancer if not treated.
