Pechersky District Court in Kyiv has completed the court investigation into a case on charges of official negligence brought against former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko as part of an investigation into the poisoning of former President Viktor Yuschenko, giving the defendant a week to prepare for judicial pleadings and final speech.
An Interfax-Ukraine reporter said that such a ruling was announced by
the presiding judge, Hanna Medushevska, after a court session on
Friday, July 27.
“The court investigation into the case is closed,” she said,
announcing a break until 8:15 a.m. on August 3 to prepare for the court
pleadings.
Earlier, at a court session, the defendants gave evidence again due
to there being a change in the charges. Those involved in the case,
former police officers Oleh Pavlenov and Volodymyr Tarasenko, said that
they confirmed the testimony they had given earlier, saying that there
was no negligence in their actions and that the charges brought by
prosecutors were groundless.
Lutsenko, in turn, said: “There could be no negligence on my part…
Quite the contrary, I was worried about solving the crime [the poisoning
of Yuschenko] and offered assistance within my powers.”
