You're reading: US representative to OSCE concerned about prosecutions of Tymoshenko and Lutsenko

Vienna - The prosecutions of former members of the Ukrainian government raise serious concerns, U.S. representative to the OSCE Ian Kelly said in a statement on Friday.

“The politically-motivated prosecutions of Mr. [former Interior Minister Yuriy] Lutsenko, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and other former government officials, raise serious concerns about the Government of Ukraine’s commitment to democracy and rule of law,” reads the statement.

“We urge the government of Ukraine to abide by its OSCE commitments and free Mr. Lutsenko, Mrs. Tymoshenko, and other former government officials currently in detention on questionable grounds,” Kelly added.

“Their ability to participate in the conduct of public affairs should not be restricted. This is especially critical as we look ahead to Ukraine’s Parliamentary elections and Ukraine’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2013,” he said.

He noted that a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) of July 3 concluded that Lutsenko’s arrest and detention were arbitrary and violated his human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.