Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko went on a hunger strike on Friday, as he promised the day before, reads a statement posted on the Web site of the People's Self-Defense Party.
"It was impossible to dissuade Yuriy Lutsenko from his intention to begin a hunger strike. As of today, he will drink only water," the report says.
Lutsenko decided to take this step despite his wife Iryna’s request to abandon the idea because of his health.
"However, Yuriy Lutsenko stands his ground – a hunger strike is the last chance to set the case to rights, because all legal methods have been exhausted," reads the report.
"It’s symbolic that Lutsenko began a hunger strike on Good Friday. However, breaking the fast on Easter is out of question. Yuriy Vitaliyovych is a hardy man and a man of his word," his associates said.
As reported, Kyiv Court of Appeals on April 21 extended Lutsenko’s arrest until May 26, and after that he announced his intention to go on a hunger strike from April 22.
Lutsenko has been held in Lukyanivka jail since December 26, 2010. He has been charged under Part 5, Article 191 (the large-scale embezzlement of state property through the abuse of office, under a preliminary collusion by a group of individuals), Part 3, Article 365 (the abuse of office, which led to grave consequences) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and Part 3, Article 364 (the abuse of power and office by a law enforcer, which caused damage to citizens’ rights as protected by the law).
On January 28, the pre-trail investigation into the criminal case against Lutsenko and three more former officials of the ministry evaluated the losses caused by them to the state at over UAH 970,000.
