Appeal court upholds extension of Lutsenko's arrest

Kyiv, February 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of Pechersky District Court to extend the arrest of former Interior Minister of Ukraine and leader of the People's Self-Defense Party Yuriy Lutsenko. "The panel of judges sees no grounds for the cancellation of the court's decision. Thus, Pechersky court's ruling has been left unchanged, and the appeal of Lutsenko and his lawyer has been rejected," the panel of judges of the Court of Appeals issued this decision on Feb.25.

As reported, Lutsenko has been held in Lukyanivka jail since December 26, 2010. He was 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), and Part 3, Article 364 (the abuse of power and office by a law enforcer, which caused damage to citizens' rights protected by the law) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On January 28, the pre-trail investigation into the criminal case against Lutsenko and three more former officials of the ministry evaluated the damage caused by them to the state at over UAH 970,000.

On February 16, Pechersk District Court of Kyiv extended the former minister's arrest by two more months, until April 26.