You're reading: Ombudsperson Karpachova asks to release Lutsenko from detention center

Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Nina Karpachova in a letter to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka has asked him consider the possibility of changing preventive punishment against former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko to the one that is not linked to detention.

The press service of the ombudsperson reported on Tuesday that Karpachova, following an appeal by Ukrainian MPs and a range of public organizations on the violations of Lutsenko’s human rights and personal safety, met with Lutsenko confidentially in the pretrial detention center on May 4.

During the meeting, Lutsenko told Karpachova that preventive punishment against him was unreasonable and the conditions of his case and data about his personality were not taken into account during the prolongation of terms of his detention.

This is confirmed by a ruling of Kyiv Court of Appeals of April 21, 2011 on the extension of his arrest to five month.

Due to this, Karpachova said that a reference to the Court of Appeals’ ruling was ungrounded. In addition, the defenders of Lutsenko refused to examine the materials of the case, having addressed the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office with the relevant motions.

According to Karpachova’s letter, because of the mentioned actions of the investigative agencies and the court, Lutsenko appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

His complaint is currently being considered by the court. The European Court has also sent a query to the government of Ukraine about the conditions of Lutsenko’s detention and arrest.