A rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Marieluise Beck (Germany, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), has said that former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has become a victim of a political vendetta.
"Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who was sentenced by a Kyiv court to four years in prison for abuse of office and abuse of power, is the victim of a political vendetta," she said.
The text of a respective statement has been sent to Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels.
In her opinion, the trial of Lutsenko was "unfair," as shown in detail by the observers of the Danish Helsinki Committee.
"Furthermore, the ‘crimes’ for which he was convicted could not possibly justify a term of imprisonment – even if the prosecution had been able to prove all the allegations against him," the PACE rapporteur said.
Beck said that Lutsenko, who was responsible for investigating high-profile crimes such as the murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, had "angered some persons who are now back in power."
Court has imposed a four-year sentence for embezzlement and abuse of office on a former interior minister in the government of imprisoned ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko. The verdict and sentence imposed on Yuriy Lutsenko on Monday means he will stay in jail for two years and 10 months, allowing for time already served since his December 2010 arrest.
