Party: Ex-Minister Lutsenko sharing cell with five former policemen

Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko is sharing a prison cell with former policemen at correctional facility No. 91 in the Chernihiv region, the People's Self-Defense Party led by Lutsenko told Interfax.

 Lutsenko is serving his prison sentence in a separate building surrounded by a fence, the party press service said. "This is a so-called prison within a prison, and it is likely that he has been placed there for security reasons," it said.

Correctional facility No. 91 is located in the village of Makoshyne in the Chernihiv region and is specifically allotted for former law enforcement, security, and judicial officials.

It was reported earlier that Kyiv's Pechersky District Court found Lutsenko guilty of a number of counts of malfeasance in office and sentenced him to four years in prison on February 27, 2012. In addition, the same court found Lutsenko guilty of negligence and sentenced him to two years of restriction of freedom on August 17, 2012.

The ex-minister was detained on December 26, 2010. On August 31, 2012, he was escorted to the penitentiary in the Chernihiv region.